1054 Chapter 1054 No Easy Answers
“Yeah I got nothing,” Lily’s blunt statement hit Kat with the force of a hundred roaring trucks. “Kat, don’t look so surprised, my own fight wasn’t nearly as morally confusing and I don’t have the answers to everything. Why are you acting like I should have the answers to the meaning of life?”
“Because you almost always do?” offered Kat. Lily rolled her eyes as Kat continued, “And what do you mean your own fight? What exactly happened on your end,”
“Eh, it’s fine, we got away… but it was mostly a question of what to do. Even if the servants were the ‘death before dishonour’ type, they were just doing a job, not even an evil one. We did break into their master’s house. Plus, if one of them was a friendly acquaintance, or even just outright friend of Bing’s? Yeah really didn’t want to be responsible for that,” explained Lily.
Kat gave a commiserating nod, she could obviously understand the feeling, as that was a large part of her current issue. Making sure that she didn’t have to kill Meng, and that Meng wouldn’t inadvertently be killed by the actions she’d already taken, or the ones she was planning to take. It was a problem though. “So you’re fine then?” asked Kat.
Lily nodded, “Mostly, I needed to use all my mana to summon up a permanent paper plane so that Lian could fly us out of there. I knew it would knock me out when I did it, and as far as I can tell my planned worked. I haven’t woken up at least, and I’m not dead. Probably not injured either… I think I’d wake up from that? Maybe? I feel like my dreams would be much more distressing in the very least,”
“I don’t know enough about dreams to say,” said Kat as she tapped her thoughtfully.
“Right… but regardless, I’m afraid I just can’t help you here Kat. I have no idea what to prioritise, and worse, the situation is so complicated that even if I DID know what I wanted to do with Meng, there doesn’t seem to be a clear path to go about that isn’t deciding, and then following up on the idea, of killing her,” said Lily with a wan smile.
Kat winced but nodded. It wasn’t a good solution, not if she wanted Bing to be pleased with the result. It was still the simplest, and only clean solution. Kill Meng, say that you took out the traitor but couldn’t figure out what happened to the ‘real’ Meng and then leave the world before it really became a problem. Bing would likely be devastated for some time afterwards as well…
Kat didn’t think she could live with herself if she lied to Bing about how it all went down, nor about the entire truth regarding her mother, or both mothers really. *Dammit. If only I could safely talk to Bing and get her help dealing with this shit. Then again, asking her if she wants me to murder her mother because her current mother kidnapped and shipped off her biological one really doesn’t set the tone for a constructive conversation. Fuck, Meng, why did you have to make this all so hard.*
.....
“So do you have any advice for me?” asked Kat.
“Follow your heart,” said Lily with a cheeky grin.
“You’re my heart. So get to the advice please,” said Kat with a grin, very pleased that it didn’t count as a lie. A metaphor perhaps, but she meant what she said. Lily of course went bright red at the suggestion before making an adorable whine that made Kat want to imitate a few of the ideas that dream Kat had provided her with.
*BACK. BACK IN THE BOX WITH YOU.* Kat mentally beat back the thoughts that had sprung up from the box labelled, ‘The Talk, Vivian edition. Do Not Open’. Kat didn’t let any of that show on her face though, she just kept staring at Lily which really wasn’t helping her girlfriend calm down in the slightest. Aw well.
Eventually though, Lily did manage to calm down and Kat pulled her into a hug. “So, any real advice for me this time?” Kat whispered after giving Lily a light kiss on the forehead.
Lily pouted in Kat’s chest, “I really don’t know what to tell you Kat. I didn’t see Meng during her breakdowns, I can’t judge her honesty from here. Don’t worry too much about the consequences right now. We CAN leave if it really comes down to it. What matters, is that we leave content in the results,”
Kat frowned that the statement. As true as it was, Kat didn’t really see it helping in anyway. *I was already more or less going to do that.* Kat did however, continued to run her hands through Lily’s hair. No sense in making Lily feel bad, it was good advice… just not useful advice. *Guess I’ve just got to go back and… well DEAL with this whole thing. Eugh, Meng is going to be smashed when I get back isn’t she?*
“Right well… I couldn’t live with myself if Meng got hurt before Bing has a chance to talk to her… so I guess we’re just going to sit around and wait or something? I’m not sure if Meng can just… sit around that whole time though. Sure I can wait… maybe… but I’m not sure SHE can. And we need to contact Sue… hmmm… could I sneak a message to Sue somehow? Can YOU sneak one to her Lily?”
“Um… maybe? Not sure what I can do once I wake up. I suppose it depends on where Lian set us down and how many people are looking for us,” said Lily.
“Hmm….” Kat bit her lips. “I… hmm… if I’m just killing time and Meng needs to do other stuff… I might be able to give her like, a chunk of my water body and have that be delivered to Sue to pass on the message? I wonder if sending KatE with the message would work? She’s made of demonic fire… so can she pass through the walls?”
“I think the bigger concern would be running out of energy before reaching Sue if you took that option. We don’t actually know where you are in relation to everything else is at the moment right?” returned Lily.
“Dammit, why does this have to be so complicated?” whined Kat.
“Yeah… this has turned into one of the weirder situations,” said Lily. “It’s probably made worse by the fact that we can effect the outcome in a major way, but it’s not our main objective… but because of our main objective we do have to take some sort of action. Makes me wish Bodeir Sr had left us with our own communication talismans or something to send messages back,”
“Unless he had some that worked on mana, just for you, they wouldn’t work. Remember, demonic energy doesn’t play nice, and on top of that we were keeping you more of a secret back then so he didn’t KNOW we had access to mana, or well, a person with mana to reply to a communication talisman,” retorted Kat.
Lily just gave a shrug and Kat nodded, giving her a kiss on the lips this time. “I guess I’ll have to leave and just… start working things out. I… I can’t kill her so I’ll need Meng’s help. Hopefully it works out…” mumbled Kat.
Lily couldn’t help it when her face twitched into a frown at the idea of Kat leaving but she knew it had to be done, so she returned with a kiss of her own before stepping back and trying to smile. It wasn’t a great attempt, but it was enough. So Kat gave a bow, and then felt herself being tugged…
And next she opened her eyes she was back in the vault and Meng… well Meng was something else. Her appearance was even more dishevelled, her face was flushed red and her robe was left hanging open. Her stomach was visibly distended and Kat was about how that had even happened to such a high ranking cultivator when she noticed the FIVE barrels sitting around Meng. “Oh Meng… that cannot be good for you,”
Meng turned her drunken eyes to Kat and let out a burp. Kat winced, disgusted at the smell and the sight as she waved her hand in an ineffectual attempt to get rid of the smell. “Urp… um… welcome back Kat? I… got a bit worked up after you peaced out… alone with my thoughts you know? So… got out the cheap stuff. Basically just poison really,”
Kat felt her eye twitching, “Meng… I do NOT want to have Bing come out to find her dead or unconscious mother, not because of something I did, and certainly not because of something YOU DID TO YOURSELF. Now can you please… I dunno use some poison purging cultivator trick?”
“Why do you think I have one of those?” asked Meng.
“Meng, you’re a spy AND the head of a sect, of course you do,” retorted Kat.
Meng pouted, “Of course I do… but it shouldn’t have been that easy to guess,”
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