Chapter 152: A Farewell (Patreon)

“To summarize: We’ve still not found any credible accounts of fire cultivators traveling the region. We have, however, gotten word that there was some sort of major upset in the Burning Thorns Sect recently.”

Wen Li slid the report over the table as he spoke.

“Nobody is quite sure what it was, and the sect seems to be trying to keep it under wraps, but word is that several of their high-profile members have lost their lives.”

Liu Wei leaned forward in his chair – that sounded interesting. It wasn’t quite what he’d have hoped for, but considering that the Burning Thorns Sect was the only sect on the peninsula that pursued the Dao of Fire, it had been high on his list of places to visit for his investigation already. This only made that idea more feasible.

“Do you have a timeframe of when this ‘upset’ is supposed to have happened? Or rather, when it started?”

Wen Li scratched his head.

“Not really, to be honest. As I said, all of this is very obfuscated at the moment. That being said, considering that the rumors only just started trickling in… probably sometime within the last month.”

Considering that the murder had happened about five weeks ago from now, that made it very much possible for these incidents to have been connected. Liu Wei nodded.

“That settles it. I will travel to the Burning Thorns Sect to investigate this matter.”

“Can we prepare anything to be of help to you?”, Wen Li asked.

“I will manage.”, Liu Wei answered, shaking his head and rising from his seat.

“Your family has been of plenty help already, devoting so much of your time to this personal matter of mine. You can wrap up your intelligence gathering for now, if there hasn’t been anything about a fire cultivator in a whole month of searching, it is unlikely that anything is gonna turn up now.”

Wen Li stood up as well, only to deeply bow.

“You have also helped us plenty with our family’s internal struggle!”

“I was happy to be of help.”

Liu Wei inclined his head in return.

“But there is still plenty for you to do before it can truly be considered resolved. You’ve got your critics on the backfoot, not it’s time to reach out to them and reintegrate them – on your terms. Focus on that for now, not just for your own, but also for your grandfather’s sake.”

“I understand, Elder Wei. Thank you for your consideration!”

“Once again, I’m the one that should thank you.”

Liu Wei nodded and stepped towards the door.

“I’ll bid my farewell to your patriarch. If you do happen to hear of anything important enough to warrant finding me, start looking at the School of Blooming Dawn.”

That was his next stop on the way to the Burning Thorns Sect. Truth be told, even if he had wanted them to, the Li Family would not have been able to provide him any meaningful help for what lied ahead. The noble families of the cities were powerful in the context of the mortal world, but when it came to the matters of the cultivation sects, they were out of their depth.

If Liu Wei wanted to find reliable information about going on in the sects what was the still very volatile region that had been the Roaring Thunder Sect’s territory before heading there himself, he needed the help of another sect.

The School of Blooming Dawn was one of the closest sects to the Burning Thorns Sect outside the Roaring Thunder Sect’s territory and, conveniently, its Grandmaster Fang Gong still owed him a big favor after he’d helped safe his sect from attack during the war. Beyond that, Liu Wei was rather certain of the man’s good character and being able to trust someone was worth more than most favors.

Liu Wei headed up the stairs to Niung Li’s room and knocked at the door.

“Please come inside.”, The Li Family’s patriarch’s voice reached him in a whispered tone and Liu Wei did as he said.

The old man was laying in his bed just like every time they had spoken over the past weeks. His face had regained some color compared to a month ago, perhaps due to the relieved stress about his grandson’s situation, but he still didn’t look good.

“Honored Elder Wei. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have come to say my goodbyes to you. I intend to travel to the Burning Thorns Sect to continue my investigation there.”

“I hope my family could be of some help to you?”

“Very much so. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know to go there now.”

“I see.” A slight smile appeared on his lips. “I’ll mark that down on my list as one more success then.”

“Patriarch Li…”

Liu Wei didn’t need to finish his sentence.

“I know.”

This was very likely the last time the two would meet each other. As it stood, Niung Li would likely pass away sometime in the following months, and Liu Wei would probably not visit Moonlake City again that soon.

The Li Family were old allies of him, some of the first permanent ones he had acquired as an Elder. Back then – they had been led by Niung Li’s father – they had often hosted him when he was traveling by on his hunts for treasures and opportunities. Later, their alliance had been strengthened through Niung Li’s younger brother, Guowei Li, who Liu Wei had had work under him in the Enforcement Hall.

But it was Niung Li who, during his last stay at Moonlake City, Liu Wei had gotten to know the best. He was an honorable, principled and capable man, a guardian of his family but also willing to take risks for the good of others – an exemplary leader. Had their lives and the circumstances of their relationship been different ones, Liu Wei was sure he could have called the man friend.

“I will not list you how impressive your achievements, both as a body cultivator and as a family head are, for I believe that you are quite well aware of both.”

Liu Wei kneeled down next to Niung Li’s bed and took his weak, wrinkled hand in his own.

“What I will tell you, Patriarch Niung Li, is that I admire the man you are and I admire how you were able to be that man for so much longer already than I have even tried to be. I shall remember you as the honorable, brave and principled man you have shown yourself to be and I shall joyfully watch as your line hopefully continues to uphold those virtues, inspired by your example.”

“I receive your praise with the greatest pride, Elder Wei. I share the same hope for my descendants and I hope that, so long as they fulfill them, you may watch over them with the same kindness as you did over me.”

Liu Wei stood up and performed a slight bow toward the old man.

“Farewell then, Niung Li.”

“Farewell, Liu Wei. I wish you the best of luck on your journey… and your journey.”

When Liu Wei took to the air and set course towards the School of Blooming Dawn, he was still in a contemplative mood. This was the first time in… in a long time that he had given much thought to a final farewell.

The people he had called friends had all left him on his journey a long time ago. Some of them he had lost to the battlefield, some to growing apart and most simply to time. It was the norm for cultivators of his age – too few made it that far for it to be likely for two or more friends to reach the Dao Contemplation Realm together.

There were people now, for the first time I centuries, that Liu Wei was close enough with to truly care about them, closer yet than Niung Li. People who shared the values he now believed in, with whom he shared mutual respect and whom he admired. It was one of the things he had gained after his last breakthrough, one of the things that made him so supremely certain that he was on the right path.

And yet, he hadn’t taken to calling any of them his friends. He called them his ‘allies’. A functional description of their political alignment. Qingge also qualified – as a ‘disciple’.

What in his mind separated those descriptions from that of a friend? He didn’t know. Perhaps it was the same thing that had taken his old friends from him – time. Perhaps it was time spent together in relation to the time one had lived that made it so difficult to apply the word ‘friend’ to those close to him. Or perhaps it was something else altogether. Liu Wei didn’t have the answer to that.

All that he knew was that this was something he’d have to contemplate in the future, for he knew the value that lay in friendship well. Not the objective, opportunistic value, of course, but the personal one.

Lost in thoughts like these and the many more they led to, Liu Wei made his way across the Lunar Peaks Sect’s territory, ever towards the School of Blooming Dawn.