Chapter 651 - Storm of the Abyss (XXIV) (Patreon)

A literal 'ka-ching' went off in my head. It was so loud and so obnoxious that my heart was startled and stopped beating for a second as my mind caught up to the fact that I had a literal 'ka-ching' sound effect play out in my head after a deplorable tragedy, just because there was a chance to recoup some of the metaphorical losses.

As I was taken away, with Shufen joining me and the rest dispersing to help, I couldn't help but feel a bit horrified at who I'm becoming, if I haven't become it yet.

Dreary silence hung among us as the strange woman stood at the front, leading the charge. Perhaps it was the self-directed scowl on my face, or perhaps it was who she was, or perhaps something I hadn't even considered, but she let the silence be, and I wasn't keen on interrupting it. Though I briefly felt greed awaken the dragon in me, I stymied it. I'm sure I'll get some rewards, though I'm also guessing most of them will be ones of honor.

Medals.

Valor.

Perhaps my name carved into some stone visited by about forty-two people annually.

Truth be told, I'm just anxious to get away. I don't know why they suddenly ran, and I don't trust them not to come back. Though I only caught a glimpse of that woman that looked as if she were woven from lightning into a human, my bones turned haggard with weight and worry. She'd skin me alive before I knew she was even there, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it. Even if I can say that we've faced 'Sages' before and have even come out victorious, it's also truth that needed to be severely contextualized.

So, rewards--whatever they may be--were almost secondary. Recoup a few tens of thousands of high-grade stones just so I can power the mountain for a bit when we test it, and get the hell away from this place.

The woman led us through the rubble and debris and out the house's back exit. Despite the fact that the entire city was likely laden in panic, the silence in the garden that we emerged upon was deafening. Soundproofing array, no doubt.

Flowers familiar and not arose on either of my sides, some weaving upward into arches and forming living tunnels of scented wonder. Just breathing the air relaxed me and caused my Qi to churn. This was a sect, I suppose, and it made me wonder whether I'll even hold one like this.

The woman led us out of the garden and to the left, where a flicker of light suddenly consumed her. Startled, I stopped, but Shufen walked past me and stepped into it, as if to reassure me that it was fine. Following her, I felt the pull of space, recognizing that it was a teleportation array--a short-distance one, admittedly, as I couldn't even blink before the scenery changed.

We were on a flat surface spanning about a mile across, its length hidden by a massive shaft behind us. As I looked around, I realize where we were--atop the goddamn sword that was the beating heart of the sect. I could practically kiss the clouds and see for miles in every direction, with the lake bounding east and the familiar terrain of cliffs and forests to the west.

Far down below, I saw the roughened state of the house, debris and rubble scattered, with thousands ant-like figures shoveling about in panic.

"Please, have a seat," a voice yanked me from my thoughts as I turned around and saw a marble, round table with scarlet cushioned chairs surrounding it. Shufen was already seated, pouring herself a cup of wine as if it was her own house. "It's been a while, Lady Shufen." the woman said as I sat down.

"Sure has, little Wuhan." Shufen said while she nibbled away at some grapes.

"Last I saw you, you were a bit... different. It must be one of those miracles that history books pontificate about." she glanced at me briefly, taking a sip of wine.

"Hm, might be," Shufen said. "Like how a venerated near-Imperial let her own sect be sieged and trounced in a way hardly ever recorded in those history books?"

... right. Er, I should probably stay out of this, and just drink away the phoenix wine. Aah. This shit is good.

"Hm. I do wonder," Wuhan said, taking a sip. "How they got in? And how did our many arrays and formations failed to detect them?"

"Indeed," Shufen said. "Perhaps if someone wasn't a notorious cheapskate and refused to properly pay, someone else may have provided them with many arrays and formations that would have detected them."

"Indeed," Wuhan said. "Only if someone didn't request an impossible sum for a subpar array, hoping someone else's desperation to protect her home might cloud her judgment."

"Indeed," oh, for the love of... "If only someone knew the true value of arrays and formations that can detect someone like that, then that someone may have realized she was being quoted a price so fair any truly greedy merchant would have cursed the provider of said arrays and formations as a moron."

"Indeed," there were no winds, here, though, I could see them moving the clouds around us. Honestly, the way the sun's light scattered across the lake and around the cliffs, it was breathtaking. It might be the most beautiful vista I'd ever come across in this world. "Only if--"

"--ah, we can do this all day long," Shufen interrupted. "What did they even want?"

"Whatever they managed to thieve away, I suppose," Wuhan said with a shrug, taking a sip of wine. "That woman even offered to have us wait until it was resolved."

"Who was she?"

"I don't know. I've never seen or heard of someone like her before in my life," her face creased into a deep frown. She was quite beautiful, I had to admit; her skin wasn't perfect, with creases and folds denoting age (though still nowhere near her actual age), especially around her lips and slightly crooked nose.

"Really?" Shufen exclaimed in slight shock. "You've never heard of the Sages?"

"... the Sages?" the frown deepened, the creases becoming more prominent.

"Aah, to think the almighty little Wuhan was so blind to the ongoings of the world. Something even I, in that wretched state, had learned of... aah, how disappointing."

"Do you make it a point to annoy me, Shufen?" she said, her lips thinning out into a grin. "Or is being annoying simply who you are? Perhaps you could chime in," she finally glanced over at me. "Or have you gone mute from staring so deeply at my face?"

"... just a man admiring a beauty, is all," I said, taking a sip of wine. "That's simply who Shufen is. Delightfully annoying." Shufen scowled and rolled her eyes, but took to silence and sipping wine as well. It felt... weird. I mean, kids are down there looking for survivors, and here I am, not two minutes after a literal catastrophe, sipping fucking wine.

"Hm. You are a man of many, many, many mysteries, Fellow Daoist Qi," wow, she might be the strongest person I've ever met who addressed me as an 'equal'. I don't know whether I should be flattered or terrified. "But I fear I am woefully unqualified to learn of them, so I shan't ask. What I do need to know are the Sages. Someone dare attack my home and kill my children--that kind of an act cannot go unpunished. So, tell me, Fellow Daoist: who are they, and where might this little old lady find one of them?"