Chapter 177: Gratitude (Patreon)

“My most sincere thanks, Honored Elder Wei. Both the Burning Thunder Sect and I myself owe you our deepest gratitude for all you have done for us! If ever there is a matter in which we could be of aid to you, be assured that we will do our utmost to help.”

Lixian Shen bowed deeply, all the Burning Thorns Sect’s elders, who were lined up behind her, following her example.

“I am glad to accept your gratitude, Matriarch Shen. You have shown me generous hospitality and aided me greatly in my own purposes, so I can say wholeheartedly that I was glad to help.”

Liu Wei responded with a slight bow of his own.

“I bid farewell to the Burning Thunder Sect.”

“We bid farewell to Honored Elder Wei!”, the elders and their new matriarch replied in unison.

Then, one by one, they bowed again and turned to head back into the forest surrounding their sect until only Lixian Shen was left.

“I suppose the formalities have been adequately observed.”, Liu Wei commented.

“I suppose they have.”

With a slight smile, Lixian Shen reached up and pulled her ivory mask off her face, revealing the scarred half of her face.

“You could have taken gotten rid of it during your breakthrough.”

It was phrased as a statement, but it was really more of a question. Liu Wei was curious why she hadn’t done so.

“Yes. I could have…”

Lixian Shen’s gaze drifted off into the distance.

During a cultivator’s breakthrough to the Dao Contemplation Realm, their soul underwent great changes, which temporarily made it very malleable. This gave them a certain amount of leeway in changing their physical form to their liking using the same technique as in the Body Reformation Realm, where the rigid bound between body and soul would usually make such sweeping changes impossible.

Many used it to restore their youthful appearance – though that much was also possible in earlier realms using other means –, others modified their appearance or physicality in ways they hadn’t gotten around to during Body Reformation. There were limits to what one could do, but healing a scar like Lixian Shen’s should certainly have been possible.

“… I suppose I didn’t see the need anymore.”, Lixian Shen continued, contemplation written across her face as if she wasn’t quite certain about her reasons herself.

“Your generous aid during my breakthrough helped me overcome the mismatch the scar was causing in my connection to the Dao. The pain is gone and it will remain gone… though I admit it gave me one memorable farewell.”

Liu Wei nodded thoughtfully. He could hardly imagine the agony she must have gone through during the entire ordeal. He knew, from experience, that there was a physical limit to how much pain the body would allow one to feel… the soul, however, knew no such boundaries.

“It’s just a mark of memory now. A reminder of the past that made me who I am today.”

Liu Wei stroked his beard. That was similar to why he had never chosen to restore his youth. Though back then it had been more about presenting this past to others, than to remember it himself.

“Besides-”, she held the mask up in front of her face and flashed a smirk that was almost playful from behind it. “I’ve come to like this aesthetic by now. It’s distinctive a little mystifying, wouldn’t you agree? I’m thinking of adding some golden engravings around the edges, now that I’ve assumed my new position.”

“I suppose that’s as good a reason as any.”, Liu Wei conceded. “Presentation is part of the qualities of a competent leader.”

Lixian Shen nodded, growing serious again.

“I will keep that in mind. I shall need to strive to make the best of the opportunity you have given me after all.”

“I wouldn’t have given it to you if I didn’t believe that you had the potential for it. Now I trust that you will make use of it to become a good and fair leader to your sect and all those it rules over.”

“I am honored by your trust.”

She stepped forward and bowed again, only slightly this time. Liu Wei inclined his head.

“Goodbye, Lixian Shen. May the Dao of Fire be at your side.”

“Goodbye. May the heavens guide your journey.”

She turned and took off into the air, gliding over the treetops, back towards her sect. A faint smile played across Liu Wei’s lips. He could still remember the exhilarating feeling of having just gained the ability to fly. There was little one could compare the absolute freedom that it seemed to grant to.

He continued to stand there for a time, gazing at the sect’s signature forest while letting the time he had spent here pass by once more. He’d arrived here hoping to find the perpetrator of the assassination of a senior sect member. Now, almost two months later, he was departing not having accomplished that goal, but still having gained much more than he’d hoped for. He’d learned about a conspiracy much deeper than he had imagined and gained a reliable ally among those who had been enemies in the past.

He turned around and headed over to where his five captive fellow sect members were waiting. They weren’t restrained in any way, Liu Wei’s presence alone was enough to keep them in check.

“Let’s head off.”, Liu Wei commanded. Shadow nodded stoically, the other four remained silent, but they followed as Liu Wei took off. Lixian Shen had offered for the Burning Thorns Sect to supply them with horses for the journey, but Liu Wei had declined.

Over long distances, cultivators at the peak of the Soul Realization Realm and beyond would outrun even the best regular horses by a significant margin. It was a different story for the Roaring Thunder Sect’s ones – they were effectively spirit beasts, after all –, but while they weren’t being strictly monopolized anymore, one would still be hard-pressed to find one of them outside of the three remaining Great Sects, much less in the now leaderless territory the Burning Thorns Sect was part of.

Regular horses were only of use to cultivators of this level in so far as they allowed them to reserve their strength as they traveled, but since there was nothing Liu Wei’s captives would need to do that for, they would travel by foot.

The travel went by without much incident. They would spend most of the day on the move, resting at various settlements at night. Liu Wei didn’t cultivate during these stays, since he wasn’t confident enough that he’d notice one of his captives slipping away if he did. He doubted they would try something like that, especially after all the things Shadow had told him, but he still wasn’t going to take that risk.

Instead, he spent his time practicing his formation mastery and alchemy a little, skills that mostly went neglected with his busy schedule at the sect, and wrote out a proper report of what he had experienced at the Burning Thorns Sect, which Professor Lei would surely appreciate for his ongoing studies of sect culture.

Close to the edge of the Roaring Thunder Sect’s former territory, they were almost caught up in a struggle for a minor inheritance that had broken out between several minor clans and independent cultivators, including a self-proclaimed ‘son of heaven’. Liu Wei even took the time to investigate, but the boy, who had barely just reached the Body Reformation Realm, didn’t actually display any exceptional degree of talent. He did seem vaguely familiar, but Liu Wei couldn’t put his finger on where he would have encountered him before.

Three days after their departure, they reached the School of Blooming Dawn, where Liu Wei caught up with Grandmaster Gong. The news of the demonic cult’s destruction had already reached them, though they did appreciate having some reliable details on it, but Lixian Shen’s breakthrough and ascension to its new leader was naturally news to them. Hearing that she was now on friendly terms with an elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect, Fang Gong quickly had a delegation prepared to establish relations with the new matriarch as well.

They, on the other hand, didn’t have anything of importance to tell Liu Wei. The Li Family hadn’t contacted them, nor had any interesting rumors reached their members’ ears. Liu Wei declined their invitation to host another banquet for him – the Burning Thorns Sect had just held two more, one for the destruction of the Demonic Cult and one in spontaneous celebration of Lixian Shen’s breakthrough –, and they departed again soon after.

About a week later, the tall walls of Moonlake City finally came into view. After a brief altercation at the city gates, a couple of guardsmen having had reasonable objections to letting a group of six dubiously cloaked travelers enter the city without identifying themselves, they made their way to the Li Family’s estate.

This time, the young man standing guard recognized Liu Wei as soon as he approached and they were quickly guided into the reception room. Liu Wei expected to for Wen Li, Patriarch Li’s adopted son and heir to receive him like the last time he’d been here, so he was surprised when the door opened Guowei Li, Niung Li’s brother and department head at the Enforcement Hall, entered instead.

“Senior Member Guowei Li.”, he began, standing up to greet his fellow sect member. “I hadn’t expected to see you here.”

“Elder Wei.” Guowei Li dipped into a courteous bow. “I hope time has treated you well, since we last met.”

“Oh, I suppose it has. Your family in particular has been of great help to me. Do tell, what brought you to visit Moonlake City? I can hardly remember a day from my time at the Enforcement Hall where you wouldn’t bury yourself in your duties.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t a joyful occasion.”, Guowei Li answered, sorrow showing openly on his face. “I regret to inform you that my older brother has recently passed away.”