Shoutout to Bruh_Vista for beta-reading and providing extensive feedback for this chapter!
____
"I didn't expect this from you, Guy," Grace said while shaking her head with a disappointed frown. Her hand moved with practised efficiency as it dipped a towel into a pot of cold water, squeezed out the excess, and gently placed it over Shuri's hot forehead. "You're telling me that this is an adverse reaction from some kind of cultivation deviation?"
"I said it's a possibility-"
"Oh, please!" Grace interjected. "'When you have eliminated all that which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' Shuri isn't sick with any illness we know of. It isn't anything that I have seen before in my lifetime. All that remains is what I haven't seen, and that falls under the forsaken cultivation category. Guy, this is serious!"
"I'm not taking it lightly," Guy argued.
"Really? I don't believe you. The Guy I know wouldn't hand such a heavy reading list to a little girl in the first place," Grace responded.
"I didn't know she would binge them all within days of getting the list," Guy reasoned, but his resolve was weak, which Grace caught like an eagle plucking a bird mid-flight.
"If that is truly the case, then I have grossly overestimated your proficiency as an educator, Guy," she said with a disdainful expression. "I didn't think that you of all people would make such a mistake."
Guy looked away in embarrassment and guilt.
"It was Marie, wasn't it?" Grace asked with a growl. "She put you up to this, didn't she? Don't even try denying, this whole set-up has her stench all over it."
"She did 'suggest' that it would be beneficial for Shuri if she were to whet her mind with this knowledge," Guy admitted with a wry smile.
"And you just went along with it?" Grace challenged, to which Guy nodded reluctantly. She scoffed loudly and said, "And pray tell me why you did something so idiotic?"
"The girl can see the future, damn it!" Guy retorted loudly. "Who am I to argue with the future?"
"You're the damn Sect Leader of the True World Sect!" Grace shot back. "So what if Marie can see the future? What does she know about teaching? What does she know about shepherding kids? Let me take a page out of your book and draw you a picture. What you basically did was hand the reins of a blind dog to a dog with functioning eyes. Just because one can see ahead doesn't mean it knows where to go."
Grace looked up and released an exhausted sigh. "Do not become utilitarian, Guy. That is Marie's downfall. It has only become worse after she started cultivating the Heavenly Eye. Be who you were: a caring man and an insightful educator. The future is set in stone, Guy. Do not change yourself or slack off just because the future is inevitable."
She stood up and picked up the pot of water. "Fix this," she declared before leaving the room.
Guy watched Grace trudge away and let out a long, conflicted breath. He knew Grace was right. And the more he evaluated his behaviour, the more annoyed and disgusted he felt with himself. Although he knew that Marie meant well, he should have taken a more hands-on approach to this matter.
"There's no point crying over spilt milk or cracked eggs now, is there?" Guy mumbled with a sigh and pulled out the chair by Shuri's work table.
"She isn't in any danger if that's what you're worried about," Guy's right side warped and spoke. "The deviation is well within the safety limits per my inspection."
"But it would have been safer if she was inside the Church of the True World. A person's cultivation is more pliable and conducive towards changes while they are in there as opposed to undergoing the process outside," the left side reasoned.
"But the girl doesn't trust us. She doesn't have any feeling of gratitude towards us. Unless she opens herself up to us, you know that there is no way she can gain access to the Church," the right side responded.
"We made a mistake here. No, I made a mistake here. This process didn't need to be rushed. Gratitude and trust aren't just things you get when you hold a specific role. Just because I'm the Sect Leader doesn't mean everyone here will automatically trust me unflinchingly. They are earned. And evidently, I have not yet earned this girl's gratitude or trust. How is it her fault?" The left side argued. The Other Guy had nothing to say to that.
"So what's the plan?" The Other Guy asked.
"There is no plan. All we can do is wait."
"Excellent... The wait-and-see approach," the right side scoffed sarcastically.
"Once the damage has been inflicted, it is best to wait and see how things will devolve further. Hasty damage control can often exacerbate the problem," Guy explained.
"Well, better get to it, I guess," the right side said with a chuckle. "Because she's waking up for good."
Guy rose and moved his chair next to Shuri, and waited while the girl's eyes flickered weakly. A light groan escaped her lips, and her mouth moved wanting for some fluids. After helping the girl sit, Guy gently placed a cup of water against her lips and allowed her to sip it down slowly.
"How are you feeling, Shuri?" Guy asked in a low voice.
"I'm... fine..." She said while breathing heavily. It was evident that the girl was tired after going through the ordeal. "What happened?"
"You suffered through a mild cultivation deviation," Guy answered.
"Mild?" Shuri blurted out in disbelief. "Is there such a thing as a mild cultivation deviation?"
"Well, it is among the small list of things happening to you right now. First off, I see that you've finished the reading list I gave you," Guy warned sternly.
Shuri shrunk her neck and slowly slid into her comforter.
"I don't think I have to say just how... ill-advised your actions were? Of course, you're already suffering the consequences of it," Guy continued. He took a long breath and said, "But you aren't the one to blame for this."
Shuri's head cocked up in shock, and her eyes widened - alarmed.
"You should know better than anyone what happens when you hang a bloody steak before a pack of starving wolves," Guy said matter-of-factly, his gaze piercing into Shuri.
"So Marie told you about that incident..." Shuri admitted.
"I know it sounds creepy, but not much misses my eyes and ears in this Sect," Guy admitted equally with a casual shrug. "What kind of a Sect Leader would I be if I didn't know what was happening in my very own Sect? An irresponsible one."
Shuri looked away and bit her lips worriedly.
"Do you want to know what happened to you?" Guy probed.
Shuri answered with a nod.
Guy chuckled dryly and said, "You underwent the after-effects of studying too much. Your mind overheated, and it was exacerbated by the fact that your cultivation just recently underwent a shift."
"My cultivation?!"
"When you underwent an advancement into the Late Stage, your core had attuned to a specific path of magic - most likely in tune with the Automagy taught among your family. But as you read and internalised the books on the list, your cultivation shifted, deviated, warped, what have you? But instead of pacing yourself, you soldiered on... and on... and well, you can see what happened in the end," Guy gestured at Shuri with both his hands to emphasize his point.
A pang of embarrassment coloured Shuri's face crimson red.
"I knew you wouldn't pace yourself," Guy followed up. "As is your nature. But I didn't follow my judgment and decided to take the advice of another."
"Marie?" Shuri interjected, to which Guy nodded lightly. "Is she in trouble?"
"A bit, yes. Do you not wish for her to be in trouble?" Guy rebutted.
"Does it matter what I want?" Shuri shot back with a cynical smile.
"All that matters IS what you want," Guy answered with a raised voice. "This whole Sect is meant to cater to what YOU want," he added while pointing animatedly at Shuri.
Guy followed up immediately, raising his hand to halt Shuri's runaway thoughts. "I am aware that your past is... complicated. Heck, I don't know what you've lived through, and I don't want to go down a rabbit hole of assumptions. Ever since joining the Sect, you've been secluded. You never voluntarily involve yourself with anything. You try to fly under the radar when possible. You don't ask for help when stuck. And most importantly, you don't trust anyone or anything around you."
"Everyone in this Sect has lived a hard life, Shuri. I'm not asking you to compare the difficulty of your life to others. What I'm asking you is to give us a chance, just like your peers have done. What do you have to lose?"
Shuri's expression grew agitated. It was probably the weakness brought on by her fever, but her control had loosened.
"I don't want to die," Shuri blurted out.
"No one wants to-"
"You don't understand!" Shuri shrieked. "I. DON'T. WANT. TO. DIE!"
Her breath grew rugged and heavier, and Guy could see that she was having difficulty breathing. He grabbed Shuri's shoulder with one arm and quickly said, "Focus on me. How many fingers am I holding up?"
Guy raised three fingers.
"T-Three," Shuri said between breaths.
"Breathe three times with me, nice and slow. Count your breath," Guy instructed.
"One, in... out... Two, in... out... Three, in... out..."
"How many fingers now?"
"Two."
"Good! One, in... out... Two, in... out..."
"Five."
"Wonderful! One, in... out... Two..."
____
The exercise continued for a minute until Shuri's breathing finally stabilized.
"From tomorrow onwards, I want you to report to me directly. I don't want you working with Marie anymore," Guy declared. "We will be running lessons one-on-one for the time being. As for your assigned task-"
"I want to continue," Shuri interrupted. Her expression was serious and sincere. For the first time, Guy didn't feel an iota of insincerity or ingenuousness in her voice.
"Are you sure?" Guy probed.
"I... I liked it," Shuri murmured. "I liked the challenge."
Guy's brows rose in surprise. "That's the spirit!"
After showering Shuri with praise, Guy left with a skip in his step.
He was elated. Because in the Church of the True World, a new faint figure started to take shape among the others.
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by (f)reew𝒆b(n)ovel.com