Chapter 643 - Storm of the Abyss (XVI) (Patreon)

Shufen's yell hung in the air like the toll of a bell, echoing. I wasn't actually sure whether it was echoing for real, of it it was my imagination projecting. After all, her jaw had come undone, as had Jin Hua's, as had the man who had ignited the whole hall. Flaps of Naǒ's wings were eerily silent and unnoticeable, and she merely hovered in the same place, the air of the hall quieting.

Flames unfurled from her figure, majestic and grand, and I had half the mind to ask her whether it was Naǒ or someone else entirely as she did look like a chicken who'd roost in my hair and chirp away if anyone else tried to so much as touch the air around her up until what felt like a day or two ago.

"I do," alas, I had to break the silence eventually and answer her. Shufen let go of the breath she was holding all this while, looking at me as if I were some kind of a monster, harrumphing about this or that under her breath, and turning her back to me, walking away and sitting down in a corner.

She was followed by Jin Hua and her two gophers, and they mumbled something to each other that sounded an awful lot like comforting prayers... so I just let them be.

"Is that enough, Tao'er?" I asked the old monster who winced and stumbled, nearly falling down before glancing back to glare at me for a moment, forcing a smile as he answered.

"It's enough, Master. Thank you very much," oh. I'm gonna pay for that, that's for sure.

There was little else for him to do, though--the man had plummeted back onto the ground, his knees stamped deeply in the stone, breath heaving with fire that could not manifest. He made a sorry figure and, for a moment, I even felt bad for him. He wasn't a Sage, after all--just a gun for hire. I mean, yeah, he did kill a bunch of people, but shit, so did I. I really cannot be using Earthly morality to judge anyone in this world any longer as, per it, I'd be an irredeemable monster.

And that wouldn't bode well for my mental health, I don't think.

Just as I was about to walk over and try and talk to him, little Naǒ flapped her wings a few times and flew towards me. I thought she wanted to go back in the ring, but seeing that stern gaze of hers, I knew better than to try. Instead, she hopped back into my head despite being thrice the size of it, and just... sat there. She sat on top of my head, and every forty or so pounds that she weighed pressed directly into my brain.

I could hear them.

They tried to muffle the laughter, but I could hear it. I'd honestly rather they just belted it out like they're in a freakin' choir. The stifled sort, it stung like jabs of an army of hornets. And I couldn't even turn my fucking head to glare at them 'cause Naǒ's wings just sort of flopped down like a weird, feathery helmet on the sides!

I marched on, ignoring Long Tao's self-serving smirk and trying to straighten my spine best I could with a fat bird resting on top of my head. Reaching the man, I struggled to crouch down, legitimately having to use Qi to settle my balance. At last, someone who wasn't laughing, but was instead looking at this weird headdress of mine with awe in his eyes.

"How many have they hired?" I asked.

"... ten, give or take," the man sighed, each word seemingly a struggle to get past his teeth.

"Stronger than you?"

"Two." that... was worrying. I mean, we barely beat this guy, and that's partly because Long Tao took him by surprise, and partly because I had a perfect counter to him. It's not as if I have a bird for every element, so this was pretty much a one-time thing.

"If they want the shard," I asked. "Why haven't they come to take it?" this was the one question I was struggling with.

If their goal was the shard of Long Tao's old blade, then why weren't all these new hires and members of their order hunting us down? It could be that the strongest ones were still being held down by the forces of the sect and the strongest visitors, but what about the weaker ones? Knowing the kind of penchant for death that they had, I'm shocked they haven't sent an army of weaker, cloaked figures to slowly wear us down.

I mean, it wouldn't work--unless you can directly overpower the kids, you can never beat them in a battle of attrition--but they don't know that. To them, we'd at best appear to be an above-average gaggle of nomadic cultivators.

"I don't know," he said. "I'm just a hired sword." his breaths were shallow and growing shallower, and he was gasping practically between every word.

I sighed, extended my arm, pressed my thumb against his forehead, and killed him. A surge of Qi billowed out as the world around us rippled quite oddly; walls, momentarily, morphed and curved, lines between stones merging and unraveling. It didn't last for long, but one or two more will likely dissolve the array enough to actually leave it.

His body plopped sideways, thudding against the still warm ground for a moment before he began to burn away, slowly turning into drifting ash.

I spun around and saw that everyone had their back turned towards me. And those backs were dancing. Up and down, up and down, up and down.

Like that goddamn parrot that used to laugh any time I'd visit Marvin. Its head would bob up and down just like that.

I though you lot respected me! Can't you at least act better?! I thought you were good at acting and pretending!

Though I wanted to ask the little--no, this thing ain't little no more, it's big, pretty big. I wanted to ask big Naǒ to disembark and go sit elsewhere, but I didn't have the heart. For all intents and purposes, she was still basically a three or maybe four years old. She liked sitting on my head and resting her wings, apparently, on the side of it, and winding its beak so deep into my skull it was like she was trying to drill a hole to my brain.

I was also tempted to tell her to go scorched fury on all those bastards who were laughing, but I just sighed, and in that sigh I put all the frustration, all the embarrassment, and whatever else I was feeling at the moment.

"Alright, enough with you all," I called out. "We need to hurry. You can walk and laugh, no?"

"We--we weren't laughing, Master," oh, Xiu'er, if only your eyes weren't teary from doing precisely that.

"Y-yes, we'd never dare laugh at you, Master, pff--" they can't even look at me. The moment they do, they nearly balk. They started walking with their heads hung low, and even walked past me just like that.

Soon enough, they'd all moved toward the entrance, and I remained the sole figure standing. A lone warrior in the center of the hall, a phoenix on my head.

Hm.

I'll introduce exams into our little lessons about cosmos and physics. Weekly, two-page exams. And I'll have special essay questions every three months. And if any of them fail, they'll have to listen to me yap and drone on about the exact same thing, over and over again.

Ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

... yeah.

I need help.