Chapter 175

  Eternal Lament (I)

  Was I going to give Xi Zhao the art?

  Probably.

  Will I any time soon?

  Hell no.

  Not because of him, actually. I decided to take Long Tao's words to heart and accept that I just may have an idea of what I'm doing, and thus I concluded that the art fit Xi Zhao perfectly fine.

  So, why wasn't I handing it over like birthday cake?

  Dai Xiu.

  That's it.

  I'm pretty sure the poor kid would go absolutely berserk (either with rage or sorrow) if I handed Xi Zhao a second reward without giving her anything.

  So, for the sake of our sanity and her mental health (as well as my own), I decided to abstain for a little while.

  The dawn came, and so as to not stand out, I decided to take Wan Lan with me to the breakfast while the rest of the kids stayed behind. It wasn't that she was the most 'socially mature' one; I'm pretty sure she was the only one. For instance, if somebody hurled an insult at me, I can trust her to just shut up and let me handle it--the kids (besides Long Tao, of course)?

  Who the hell knows what they'd do?

  So, I opted to bring her with me and tell the others that the kids were just sleeping in, being tired from the climb and all.

  Ah, if only that were the truth, and it wasn't the opposite--they were energized, and I... well, let's stop there.

  We weren't the only ones streaming out of the homes, having seen more than a dozen folk on our way over. Though they looked at us and ogled us for a bit, nobody said a thing. Either they all collectively just accept any face that comes, or the word had already spread about us.

  Regardless, it has nothing to do with me.

  We gathered at the barracks, the same place we went last night to see the 'Capt'n', but, unlike last night, it was rather bustling.

  Nearly all chairs were taken up, and a relatively tantalizing scent of fresh bread was overcoming.

  "Ah, newcomers! Come over 'ere!" The booming voice was familiar; turning to the side, in the leftmost corner I saw Big Fatty--Zhu, dammit--waving at us. He wasn't alone at the table, but at least there were free spots, so we went over. Wan Lan kept by my side, eyeing everything around like a hawk.

  ... the kids got to her, didn't they? They whispered some damn nothings about how she has to protect me, and now... now she's like this.

  Haah.

  "Just the two of you?" Zhu asked.

  "The kids are still sleeping," I said. "Fairly tired from the climb."

  "Ah, I can imagine. Sit, sit." We sat down on the quite uncomfortable wooden benches, facing seven faces around the rectangular, wooden table. The hearth was burning hot, making the temperature in the barracks rather comfortable. "You slept well?"

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "Hardly. My bones were screaming at me all night long."

  "Ha ha, yes. The mountain will do that to you," he said, pulling two of the plates from the side and pouring us each some soup as well as a small loaf of bread. "It ain't much, but it's food."

  "Ah, you don't have to. We have--"

  "Nonsense; you're guests. Just eat the food and shut up," he said.

  "Big Fatty, did you 'ear that Old Lun didn't come home yesterday?" As Wan Lan and I started eating--while carefully purifying the food with Qi, just in case--the conversation quickly unraveled irrespective of us.

  "Damn. Who went out to search?"

  "M'aan."

  "If anyone can find 'im."

  "I know we're short on supplies, but I really don't like us going far out this close to the winter."

  "Aye. Short days and even shorter daylight. Maybe we can prevail if we squeeze for a bit?"

  "Don't know," they chattered among themselves while the two of us just ate in silence. The 'soup' was rather... well, it was actually kind of good. It was clearly mostly just water, but there was the right set of herbs and a small piece of some animal bone in there giving it some flavor. With the bread, it was just the right amount to make a man feel full. "Elders yammered on about this winter, didn't they? How it'd be the longest yet."

  "Ah, they yammer about every winter."

  "It's the old-heart disease. The older you get, the more you yammer."

  "Ha ha ha," as the table broke out into laughter, I took the time to use my daily charges of the eyes and see if there's any more... anomalies.

  Luckily for me, there weren't any--none of the other guys were even cultivators, just normal folk. One was a former mercenary, and four others were, as you'd expect, former bandits. I don't imagine people living this far out and away from civilization do so because they really enjoy the mountain air.

  "Newcomer, what's the stuff outside? Anything happenin'?" They finally turned their attention to me and asked.

  "A few things," I said, deciding to engage. "I don't know if you've heard, but two sects down south got destroyed."

  "Oh? Which sects?"

  "Fire Sun and Spirit Sword sect."

  "... get out."

  "You're a funny guy, ha ha."

  "Listen to 'im, eh? Two great powers, and both got destroyed, ha ha."

  "Oh, how I wish I was joking," I added with a faint smile, and I really do wish I was joking. If I wasn't, I'd be back on my peak, lounging around in my own bed, instead of being here. "I'm not too sure what happened myself, but it's all the talk down the mountain. Rumors are that even the Holy Lands got involved!"

  "Holy Lands?" Zhu mumbled, his brows creasing.

  "Hm. I don't know how true it is," I added. "Just what I've heard."

  "... maybe there's going to be room for us down there after the winter, huh?"

  "What? You want to start cultivating, you old fart?"

  "Blast away! What's wrong with me wantin' to cultivate?"

  "Hah! Cultivate a nice set of flowers, 'cause nobody else's gonna bring any to your funeral!"

  "Ha ha ha!"

  While the others laughed, I noted that Zhu... didn't. His expression was rather glum, actually, as though the mention of Holy Lands was somehow... destructive.

  Why? I didn't dare ask.

  "L-Lilia, Lilia is back!!" Somebody came flaming through the barrack's doors, swinging them open violently and shouting immediately. Quite a few folk rose up and drew their weapons but halted when the words echoed against the walls.

  "Lilia? She's alive?!"

  "Where is she?!"

  "Let's go, let's go!"

  ... rather than staying here, I glanced at Wan Lan as the two of us stood up and streamed out with the crowd. The person who shouted led the crowd out and toward the same entrance where we arrived. There, two people were currently hugging--a young man and a young woman.

  The young man seemed rather... ordinary, if slightly handsome.

  The woman, though?

  Oh, boy, how I wish I didn't waste all my daily charges. Something about her disturbed me deeply. And I wasn't alone--as soon as she came within our sights, Wan Lan practically glued herself to me, tendrils of Qi inching around the edges of her body. She was ready to explode at a moment's notice.

  "Lilia!" Captain suddenly broke through the ranks and emerged, trying to show some human expression. To others, it probably just seemed that he wasn't very good at it. To me? Well, whoever was controlling him was probably doing their best. It's just that their best sucked. "You're alive!"

  "Damn right I am," the woman finally spoke, her twilight hair coming undone as a rather harsh and cold wind blew. "What? You thought the mountain killed me? Hah! I ought to whip you bastards even more!"

  "Ha ha!" As everyone laughed, I noticed something: a strange, sweet scent wandering toward us.

  It was tantalizing and inviting, and I instinctively activated the Art of Survival's illusion-breaking properties... and it worked. I also grabbed Wan Lan's arm and stopped her from attacking... just barely.

  "Not yet," I warned.

  "She tried to harm you." Haah. The kids are getting to her too much, aren't they?! You're almost seventeen! Where's the rebellious phase?! Where's the 'You're not my dad!' spiel? Do teenagers in this world work in some different way?

  "Your Master isn't so weak as to be harmed by something like that," I said. "Blend in with the crowd and play along. This isn't the right place to stand out."