Book 3: Chapter 38: Autonomy

Book 3: Chapter 38: Autonomy

While Sen made sure that they stayed well clear of civilization, he also made sure that they kept moving away from the Temple of Eternity’s Edge. While it seemed less and less likely that Lan Zi Rui was going to chase them down, Sen didn’t feel like making it any easier than necessary if the old man changed his mind. One pleasant surprise during those few weeks was how few spirit beasts attacked them. He wondered if whatever edict that protected them before was still in effect, or if the spirit beasts could just sense that he and Lo Meifeng would relish a chance to vent their anger on something or anything that gave them an excuse. They didn’t talk much. Sen was too used to just not interacting with anyone. He fell back on silence as a default and toyed with ideas about his cultivation. Lo Meifeng seemed consumed with her own thoughts, and Sen didn’t see a need to pry. She was an adult, more of one than he was, so she could share or not share as she saw fit.

The good news was that after a few weeks of steady meals and moving to a new location on a daily basis, Lo Meifeng had put enough weight back on that she no longer looked like she was lounging on the threshold of imminent death. Sen thought she still looked a little thin, but not enough to draw comment or focused attention. It just looked like she might have missed some meals recently. That was common enough that it might even help her blend in with the commoners. At that point, Sen finally brought up the topic of getting her to a place where she could send a message off to whoever it was that she sent messages. Sen assumed those messages didn’t go directly to Master Feng. An idea that Lo Meifeng confirmed.

“I have a,” she snorted, “well, he’s sort of like my minder. Except for the part where he only cares about whether I complete my tasks.”

“You make him sound like a real delight.”

“He’s not really good with human beings, or animals,” she squinted in thought, “or anything that’s alive really. He is good at keeping track of details, though, which makes him ideal for his job. Anyway, I send reports to him, and he gets them to Feng Ming. I don’t know how he does that, but he gets it done. That’s the important part.”

“Fair enough. Where do you need to go to get a message out to him.”

“That road we were on before our little cult adventures leads to Lin Wen’s Redoubt. We’re not too far from there unless you’ve taken us a lot farther than I thought.”

“It’s maybe two days away, for us at least.”

“Then, that’s where we’ll go.”N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Sen frowned. “Don’t you think that they’ll have people there watching for us, just in case?”

“Sure, but they’re going to be looking for three people. A mid-stage core cultivator,” she said, pointing at herself. “A late-stage foundation formation cultivator,” she pointed at Sen. “A qi-condensing young woman,” she held her hands out to either side.

Both of them fell silent for a moment at the reminder of Lifen. Sen forced himself to shake it off. There was nothing to be done about it, yet.

“Okay. Your point?” he asked.

“They aren’t going to be looking for a pair of core cultivators. The only people who know you’re a core cultivator now, and who are still alive, are in this forest. It’s not perfect camouflage by any stretch of the imagination, and it won’t last forever. People will figure out that it’s just the two of us after a while. For right now, though, it should be good enough to get into the city, send a message, and get out. Especially if we’re nice and quiet.”

Sen nodded. “I guess that holds up. Do you want to go in by yourself, like last time?”

“Hells no. I want you in sight at all times. If you start hiding out in the wilds again with the strength of a core cultivator at your disposal, I’ll never find you again.”

Sen just nodded absently at that. He’d long since given up on any notion of making her job harder. It had been childish and only designed to aggravate her. With some time to reflect, the stupidity of aggravating the only person he could absolutely rely on to protect him had become patently apparent. Instead, his mind had turned to a different consideration. It was something he’d been thinking about ever since they left Lifen behind. He looked over at Lo Meifeng, who frowned at him.

“What?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you think I’m still too thin to pass as normal.”

“I understand that, wait, what? You’re staying?”

“Oh, you are a pain in the ass of mythological proportions. I gave real consideration to smothering the life out of you while you slept in the early days. But do you know what you aren’t?”

“Not really,” said Sen as he imagined her suffocating him with a pillow.

“You are not boring. At all.”

“And that’s a good enough reason to stick around?”

“You’re right that a lot of improbably bad things happen around you. But, as you point out, it’s not all bad. I got to see a divine turtle, Sen. I know you got advice from one, but do you have any idea how rare it is to even see one? With that alone, I became part of a very small, very elite group of people. I got to watch a kid who should be trying to impress some wandering cultivator girl his own age protect a ship that was completely underwater. I got to find out that there’s a creepy cult out in the wilds where nothing at all should be. I saw the biggest and most powerful sect in Emperor’s Bay back down from a foundation formation cultivator. I advanced from the secondhand heavenly qi that you got from an enlightenment. I even got to kill a genuine demonic cultivator or two, which probably washed away about three lifetimes worth of bad karma for me. That’s just this year. Imagine what I’ll have seen and done in another year. Hells, I figure if I can survive hanging around you long enough, there’s a decent chance that you’ll take me along for the ride when you ascend.”

“What about all that ‘you face the heavens alone’ stuff? I can’t take anyone with me when I go,” said Sen, who frowned at the smirk on Lo Meifeng’s face. “Do you know something I don’t know?”

“So, so very many things.”

“I meant about ascending.”

“I might know something you don’t, but I can’t really tell you about it. I can’t even really give you any details about why I can’t tell you about it. I know that’s eating you alive already, but I literally can not tell you.”

Sen’s rising frustration suddenly abated. “Oh, it’s one of those kinds of things.”

“It is. On the upside, if you eventually figure it out on your own, then I can talk to you about it.”

“Good to know. I guess. Well, if you’re sure you want to stick around, I’m not going to try to talk you out of it.”

Lo Meifeng’s smirk evaporated, and her expression got very serious. “I appreciate that you offered more than you can know. Most people wouldn’t have even thought about it. They’d have taken my presence, my protection, me for granted. Autonomy isn’t everything, but it’s always easier to do the hard things when you make a choice to be around for them. Thank you for letting me make the choice.”

“You’re welcome,” said Sen.

There was a pregnant pause before Lo Meifeng said, “This is awkward now, right?”

“Yes. So awkward.”

“Well,” said Lo Meifeng, brightening, “at least it’s not just me suffering.”