Book 6: Chapter 29: Answers

Book 6: Chapter 29: Answers

The silence between them drew out. There was a quality to it, a kind of sharpness that left Misty Peak certain she would cut herself with the wrong move. She kept her face, well, the face shed chosen for this task, neutral even as her mind raced for the right thing to do. Shed misread everything. The situation. The actual, terrifying strength of her long-estranged grandfather. Most of all, shed misread the man who stood in front of her. In some ways, he frightened her more than Laughing River did. Shed been following her grandfather on and off for a long time, so shed become aware of Lu Sen almost by accident. The elder fox had been It was not spying, never spying, because even traitorous foxes were too dignified for anything as pedestrian as spying. Her grandfather had been surreptitiously checking up on the boy. Following that, she had made a point to learn about the folk hero, Judgments Gale. At least, she thought she had.

Where shed expected him to be almost mindlessly violent, hed been controlled. No matter what tale shed tell others, she lived only because he hadnt really been trying to kill her. It had taken a little while for that truth to settle into her mind. Shed walked away from that fight feeling pretty good about herself. Shed beaten a folk hero and even stolen a couple of kisses from the ridiculously pretty man. The longer she thought about it, though, and compared what had happened to the kinds of stories shed heard about him, the less good she felt. The man in those tales set the sky on fire, battled spirit beast tides, and singlehandedly slaughtered an entire criminal organization. Even if those stories werent completely true, she was willing to bet there was a lot of truth mixed in. If hed wanted to, he could have simply burned her to ash instead of grabbing her. Hed been trying to stop the fight, not end the fight.

Now, he was standing there like he didnt have a care in the world. She couldnt stop thinking about that horde less than a half-mile away. One wrong move and all those terrible things could swarm into the forest and destroy everything in their path. And this mad bastard was out in these accursed woods like it was a fine summer day in the city. He was just oh so casually setting up some kind of formation, or was it formations, that she didnt even pretend to understand. It was also painfully obvious that he truly did not care what happened to that girl from the sect. And why would he? If someone showed up looking to kill me, I wouldnt care what happened to them either, she thought. If shed managed to grab someone he did care about, that might have gotten her some leverage. Then again, it might have transformed him into the avatar of doom that everyone already thought he was.

Grabbing that girl had been a spur-of-the-moment act, anyway. Shed hoped it might pan out but couldnt be all that disappointed that it hadnt gotten her anything. Misty Peak studied the mans face and then had to look away. Looking at him wasnt helping her decide, just distracting her. She didnt need a distraction. Not right that minute, anyway. She shut down the more distracting routes her mind tried to take her by recalling Lu Sens killing intent. Their fight the day before had nearly ended at the moment he released the thing he called a killing intent. It had been abominable, domineering, and beneath it all shed felt a kind of icy wrath. Simply remembering it was enough to make her shudder.

If you want to take a day and think about it, said Lu Sen, Ive still got a lot of work to do today.

A quick glance revealed a kind of mild bemusement on the mans face. She glared at him, but the man seemed all but immune to it. It wasnt a first, but it was close. She had an excellent glare and knew it. What had the man seen that let him shrug off her glare? The man was too self-possessed. She was used to knowing what people thought at a glance. Shed learned to rely on that. Now, it felt like she was navigating blind. She didnt know the best course to get what she wanted from the situation. Out with it, hed said. She wondered if she should just do what he wanted, but something quintessential to her nature, her very fox-ness, rebelled at the idea. Foxes didnt do as they were asked. They did as they wished.

Are the tasks of the mighty Judgments Gale so pressing that he cant give a woman a few minutes to think?

Is that what you were doing? said Lu Sen with amusement in his eyes. Then, by all means, please proceed.

She watched as he looked around thoughtfully, nodded to himself, and walked over to a tree. Then, he leaned a shoulder against it and crossed his arms, shooting her a ridiculous grin. He looked so wildly overconfident that she was sure that it was meant as some kind of parody. People like him didnt need to put on acts like that. Is it a ploy? Is he trying to make me second-guess myself? What kind of game is he playing?This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

***

Im hungry, thought Sen.

Hed tried to take some of the tension out of the situation by putting a little space between them and leaning against a tree. Hed even tried to give her a friendly smile. It hadnt worked. If anything, the look on her face gave the distinct impression of someone who was constipated. While he waited for her to make some kind of decision, he pulled an apple out of a storage ring. The woman glared at the apple like she thought he was going to attack her with it. He summoned another apple and tossed it to her. She grabbed the apple out of the air and then just looked at it like shed never seen one before. Whatever, thought Sen. Maybe foxes dont eat apples. Hed never given much thought to what foxes did or didnt eat. Laughing River hadnt seemed very picky. Sen took a bite out of the fruit in his hand and let himself enjoy the crisp sweetness of it.

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He watched her watching him eat the apple. It made him feel a bit awkward having someone spend so much attention on him eating. Not that it stopped him. Sen had developed a fondness for apples in the years before he became a cultivator. Unlike so many other kinds of food, apples held up well. Any food that wouldnt go bad almost immediately was like pure treasure on the streets. He wouldnt go so far as to say that apples had kept him alive, but he wasnt quite willing to say that they hadnt either. While those terrible days of want and suffering were long behind him, the love of apples had remained. He finished the apple and hurled the core deep into the forest. Turning his eyes back on Misty Peak, he saw that she was still just holding the apple.

If youre not going to eat that, give it back because I will eat it, said Sen, holding out his hand.

The woman looked from his hand down to the apple she held in her hand. She drew it closer in what looked like a completely unconscious protective action before she took a bite of it. While she was busy eating and thinking about whatever it was that she needed to settle in her head, Sen withdrew the beast core hed stored earlier. He let his qi and spiritual sense wash over it. It was still connected to the other one. There was an almost visible tether between them and he could feel the resonance. Good, he thought. It should work. He stored the beast core and looked up to see that the woman was still studying everything he did. He decided to take inspiration from Laughing River.

Yes, I am a magnificent specimen of human perfection. I suppose I cant blame you for wanting to spend as much time as you can drinking in the glory that is me.

Why do you care? asked an exasperated Misty Leaf before realization struck her. Wait-

Oh, Im just a curious man, by nature, said Sen with a big smile.

We have a natural human form, said the fox through clenched teeth. We decide each time if well adopt it.

Will you show me what you really look like? asked Sen.

No, said Misty Peak with an expectant look in her eye.

Sen knew that she wanted him to ask her why. It would let her reclaim control of the conversation. He cocked his head to one side.

I understand, said Sen with a sympathetic tone and a knowing look. So, you were about to tell me what your grandfather did.

Sen had to work hard to contain his laughter as he saw the strain it put on the fox to not ask him what he had meant with that I understand comment. He had to give her credit, though. She forced the question down.

I dont see any compelling reason why I should tell you, said Misty Peak.

Maybe there isnt one. Of course, telling me doesnt really cost you anything, either. Worst case, nothing changes. You havent gained anything, but you havent lost anything. Best case, you convince me.

You dont strike me as someone who changes their mind very often.

Sen shrugged. In that case, Ill leave you to decide what to do with the rest of your day. I do need to get on with my work.

She let him get almost twenty steps before she called out after him. Stop.

Sen looked back at her. Yes?

Ill tell you.

Sen walked back and leaned against the same tree again. Something about that seemed to annoy the woman, but he couldnt for the life of him figure out what.

Regale me with your tale, said Sen.