Chapter 159: Shelter (Patreon)

Sorry for missing sunday, but I'm quite busy right now. Can't promise it won't happen again over the next few weeks, though I'll try to make it work ofc. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

“That is all that happened before you arrived.”, Qingge finished her report to Elder Shi. They had put some distance between themselves and the group around the unconscious Zixin, so they could talk undisturbed.

“I see. You did well organizing the search this quickly. Let’s hope his recovery goes smoothly. First, let’s get him to the Healing Hall right away.”

Qingge was about to agree when a thought crossed her mind.

“Is he safe there?”

Elder Shi shot her a questioning look.

“It’s just… with all the recent events, I’m having a hard time believing that this was just an accident.”

“You suspect foul play?”

Qingge shrugged.

“Just a hunch.”

“Hmm…”

Elder Shi rubbed her temple in thought.

“Qingge, we do have to acknowledge that, even as cultivators, people make mistakes and accidents do happen. In the right situation, a momentary lapse in concentration can be enough for that.”

Qingge nodded.

“I understand, elder. It was just a sudden…”

“Then again, it is strange.”, Elder Shi interrupted her. “If accidents like these happened frequently, we would forbid disciples from using these paths altogether. And usually, someone whose almost finished body reformation should be able to react fast enough to catch themself even if they fall, instead of tumbling down the whole slope. I’ve seen the boy fight; he certainly should have been able to do that.”

She fell silent for a moment before continuing.

“That is not to mention that, as you should be aware, the boy does have a connection to Elder Wei. Though it doesn’t quite track why anyone should target him rather than, well… you, for example.”

That was true. Contrary to her, Zixin wasn’t actually involved in anything important, and while he was certainly known as a talented disciple among his peers, she wasn’t aware of any significant attention he had received beyond that ever since his performance at the qualification competition for the tournament.

“Have you checked him for marks of struggle?”

“I… don’t think so, not explicitly at least. But all of the injuries I saw can be attributed to his fall.”

“I see… I’ll take another look at him for good measure.”

Elder Shi turned around and they made their way back to the rest of the group, where she knelt down next to Zixin and put two fingers on his forehead. Qingge focused on her soul sense, which let her barely perceive the fine pulses of Qi that she was sending through the boy’s body.

After a while, Elder Shi withdrew her hand and stood up shaking her head.

“Nothing unusual.”

She turned to the two who had been treating the injuries.

“Are you done for now?”

“Yes, Elder. None of his injuries are critical anymore. He’ll need rest and a steady dose of medicine more than anything now.”

“He’ll get both. Thank you for your help. You may return to your regular tasks now.”

“Yes, Elder!”, the two exclaimed in unison.

“The same goes for the rest of you. I’ll personally get him out of here. Qingge, you’ll stay, I want you to brief me on the state of the investigation on the way. Oh, any you two…”, she nodded towards Chonglin and Qiao, “you can tag along as well, if you want.”

“Yes, Elder!”

“Thank you, Elder!”

As the crowd dispersed, Elder Shi performed a small gesture with her hand and the earth beneath Zixin began to rise into the air, lifting his body alongside his makeshift bed into the air without disturbing his posture. Like that, Zixin was moved along as Elder Shi began to walk.

Shortly after, when everyone but Qingge and Zixin’s two friends was out of earshot, she turned to Qingge again. The look on her face was suddenly far grimmer than before.

“His hyoid bone is slightly fractured.”

Qingge stopped in her tracks.

“Then that means…”

“Yes. He either had a very unlucky fall…”

“…or he was choked.”

Elder Shi nodded.

“Then we can’t bring him to the Healing Hall. Once whoever did this finds out he survived, they’ll want to try and finish him off, especially since he might remember who they were. Too much room for something like that in the Healing Hall.”

“Considering that one of their senior members was recently assassinated there, I’m inclined to agree. But where would you have us bring him then?”

Qingge took a moment to think. Of the places they had access to, the Enforcement Hall was probably the best suited. He’d be near Elder Shi’s regular activities and surrounded by the people responsible for the sect’s security. They also had enough people with medical knowledge among their forces, so he could be taken care of easily.

She was about to respond with that, when Master Wei’s words suddenly came to her mind.

“Umm… before he departed, my master told me that the safest place in the sect besides the palace was the library.”

Elder Shi’s face turned contemplative.

“That’s true. But it’s not like they take care of… actually, maybe it’s worth a try. Let’s meet him.”

“Meet who?”, Qingge asked, confused.

Elder Shi raised a brow.

“Well, the librarian, of course. Elder Yuan. You didn’t think the scribes were what kept the library safe, did you?”

…

Shirong Yuan was the oldest elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect by a significant margin – even Ma Rong was about half a century younger than him. With over six-hundred-and-fifty years behind him, the wind cultivator had seen the reign of four different patriarchs and an uncountable number of shifts in the sect’s political landscape. And through all of it, he had remained staunchly neutral.

He lived a life withdrawn from the sect’s regular activities, only leaving the library on special occasions and rarely for long. To the ordinary sect members, he was a man shrouded in mystery and Master Wei had told Qingge that, even to his fellow elders, he was somewhat of an enigma.

Only Elder Ma Rong and Elder Liang were old enough to have seen his master, the former librarian who had passed away shortly after Elder Yuan had reached the Dao Contemplation Realm over five hundred years ago. He too had been an elder known for his neutrality and he too had been said to have been abnormally old by that point.

Besides that, she didn’t know anything about the man they were here to meet, despite having seen him several times back when she had accompanied Master Wei to the council meetings, so Qingge was filled with suspense as one of the scribes guided the small group through the library’s narrow, dimly lit corridors.

Zixin’s two friends had taken the news that he had likely been attacked surprisingly calmly – she supposed they had both been exposed to too much of the sect’s harsh reality to be totally caught off-guard. Still, she could sense that they were even more nervous than her as they followed behind Elder Shi and her.

“This is Elder Yuan’s office.”, the scribe stated, interrupting Qingge’s thoughts.

The door before them was unassuming, but she didn’t have long to mull on that, as it swung open the moment, they stepped before it.

“You may enter.”

Elder Yuan’s voice was deep but smooth and something in it emitted an otherworldly calmness. When they entered, he was already standing in front of his desk to meet them.

Contrary to Ma Rong, whose age was clearly apparent in his appearance, Elder Yuan seemed somewhat ageless. His long hair was brown-grey, and his features certainly weren’t that of a young man, but they also didn’t seem like those of a particularly old one.

“Greetings, Elder Shi. You…”, he looked at Qingge, “are Elder Wei’s disciple. Qingge, yes? And you two… hmm…” He narrowed his eyes. “Inner Disciple Qiao Bai and Chonglin, correct?”

The two nodded slowly, and Qingge followed suit. She’d been surprised that the elder even knew her name, but those two?

“I assume you’re here because of this boy.”, The librarian gestured towards Zixin. “Though it doesn’t look like he’s in need of immediate medical attention anymore.”

“He already received that. We found him after a fall from the eastern mountain a couple of hours ago.”, Elder Shi began to explain.

“It’s good that you did. But that doesn’t explain why you brought him here. Shouldn’t he be at the Healing Hall by now?”

“We suspect that the fall wasn’t an accident but an attempt on his life.”

Elder Yuan frowned and stepped forward, next to where Zixin was still laying suspended in the air.

“Your reasoning for that?”

“Fractured hyoid. It could have been an unlucky fall as well, but…”

Elder Yuan had put his hand on Zixin’s head as Elder Shi spoke.

“Not a fall.”, he interrupted her. “He was choked.”

Qingge looked at Elder Shi.

“Elder Yuan’s medical experience far surpasses mine.”, she quietly answered her unspoken question. The elder in question remained focused on Zixin in silence for a while before looking up again.

“The injury is as fresh as the other ones. He was choked right before he fell. Whoever did it was significantly stronger than him, but didn’t intend to kill him that way.”

Elder Shi nodded.

“Thought as much.”

“And you brought him here because you suspect he wouldn’t be safe at the Healing Hall.”

“Correct. Or rather, it was her idea.”

She gestured at Qingge.

“Your master gave you smart advice. Not that I would expect anything else from Elder Wei.”

“Then will you take him in?”, Elder Shi asked.

“This library gives shelter to any member that might find themselves in danger. The moment they make it past these walls, they are under my protection.”

The air around Zixin began to swirl, gently lifting him from his place.

I will take care of the boy and nothing short of several elder’s combined assault will pose a threat to him.

“Thank you.”

Elder Shi inclined her head and Qingge quickly bowed.

There is nothing to thank me for. It is merely my duty that I am carrying out.

“Not everyone can be relied upon to do so.”

“That much is true… One more thing: I fear this boy won’t wake up anytime soon.”

“Do you know how long it might take?”

“Noone can know but the Dao and the heavens. I will inform you when the time has come.”