Chapter 79: East
Sen had been right. The death of the mayor and his family created havoc in the local government as people vied to seize at least temporary control. The city guards tried to launch an immediate investigation, only to discover that exactly no one was grieved by the loss of the mayor. Worse, their best suspect, Sen, was a wandering cultivator that they couldn’t even make talk to them. For his part, Sen had waved off their attempted inquiries by channeling what he imagined a young master might be like.
“These sound like mortal concerns to me, not cultivator business,” he told the guard captain with equal parts disinterest and disdain. “Do not trouble me with these matters again.”
While the city guard went off to try to find some other suspect, Sen prepared for his journey east. That mostly involved spending time with Grandmother Lu as she made last-minute arrangements for the caravan. The man in charge of the caravan guards, a muscular body cultivator named Chen Shi who Grandmother Lu had recruited from somewhere else, was initially unimpressed by Sen. Much to Sen’s amusement, Chen Shi demanded that they trade pointers so the older man could assess whatever meager skills the boy had. Sen had glanced at Grandmother Lu, mostly for permission, and she gave him a little nod. Chen Shi didn’t notice, but Sen had to repress a smile when he saw the older woman’s lips twitch. Five minutes later, after being repeatedly disarmed or metaphorically killed, the body cultivator grudgingly accepted that Sen might be an asset after all. Grandmother Lu did the man the small courtesy of going inside before she burst into laughter.
“Do you have some secret dislike of him, Grandmother?” Sen asked with a small smile.
Grandmother Lu shook her head and said, “No. He’s a good guard. He just needs the occasional reminder that there are others with more strength and more skill than him. It keeps his prices reasonable.”
“Oh no,” Sen cried in mock horror, “I have been shamelessly used by a ruthless businesswoman in her negotiations!”
“Indeed,” she said, offering Sen a sage nod. “Let that be a lesson to you, young cultivator. Always negotiate your fee up front.”
Then, the two burst into more laughter.
***
Sen ultimately made good on his casual statement that he would stop by to meet Bai’s mother. He’d spent a lot of time daydreaming about those pineapple buns and decided that he couldn’t leave town without at least trying to wrangle the recipe from the woman. He took Grandmother Lu’s advice and arrived with a modest bottle of rice wine as a gift. The girl’s father had seemed mostly perplexed, having been unaware of Sen’s existence up until he showed up at their home. Bai’s mother, on the other hand, took one look at Sen and nodded to herself.
“Ah,” she said, “now, I understand.”
Bai herself was left speechless and blushed furiously every time Sen looked at her. Grandmother Lu had finally sat him down and explained what was going on. Sen hadn’t spent much time thinking about his own appearance. Yet, he accepted the older woman’s assessment that he was unusually handsome. She was in a better position to know than he was. He also provisionally accepted that his appearance was going to draw silly reactions from some young women. He was less certain about Grandmother Lu’s declaration that the same thing would apply to some not-so-young women who, in her words, ought to know better.
Sen had fretted about that conversation for about five minutes before he ultimately concluded that none of it was really a him problem. There wasn’t much he could do about his appearance. There was also very little he could about how others reacted to it. If other people reacted in ridiculous ways to his appearance, that would be a them problem. So, Sen carried on as he would have before that conversation, just armed with the necessary information to put things in context. He wasn’t sure if Bai’s mother fell into the ought to know better category, but the increasingly stern looks her husband directed at everyone as the evening wore on suggested that maybe she was. Still, his gambit to procure the recipe was a success in the end.
***
Sen and Grandmother Lu stood outside as the caravan made a few last-minute preparations. She looked him up and down with a piercing gaze, as though she suspected that he’d forgotten to pack something important. Based on how intense her look was, Sen couldn’t help but wonder if she thought he’d left his lungs behind in some dusty corner somewhere. She seemed to find whatever she was looking for and gave him a quick nod.
“So, have you decided where you’ll go?” Sen asked.
“No,” admitted Grandmother Lu. “Probably south. I grew up there and it’s been a long time since I’ve been back. I miss the heat. Winters here were always a bit too harsh for me.”
“Just leave word for me when you settle somewhere. I’m sure I’ll have stories and gifts I’ll want to share with you.”
Grandmother Lu waved off the sentiment. “Never mind about gifts. I don’t need anything. Just bring yourself and your stories. We’ll eat and laugh, and I’ll even pretend that I don’t know you’re leaving out the dangerous parts.”
“Would I do such a thing?”
She gave him a disapproving look. “Yes.”
Noticing that the caravan people were eyeing him and Grandmother Lu, he offered her a deep bow. “Until we see each other again, Grandmother.”
She returned the bow and then pulled him in for a brief, fierce hug. “You mind yourself out there.”
With that, Sen was finally on his way to the ocean.
***
Sen learned that traveling with a caravan consisted of a lot of boredom, broken up only very occasionally by tension and violence. There were a few spirit beast attacks. Sen assisted as directed by Chen Shi for most of them. Protecting the caravan was the man’s job. It wasn’t for Sen to pretend he knew better. The only time Sen took direct control was when he sensed a spirit beast that felt like it was on a level with his own cultivation. The caravan guards were brave enough and skilled enough for lower-level spirit beasts, but not whatever was out there. Sen had told the guard captain to keep everyone close and not to follow him for any reason.
“If I don’t come back from this, you run,” Sen ordered.
Then, he shot off into the forest that loomed on either side of the road. He found what he was looking for less than two hundred yards from the road. The beast was crouched up in a tree and Sen couldn’t help but stare at the unfamiliar creature for a moment. It looked a bit like a cat in body shape and had a long puffy tail, but its face was all wrong. It looked more like a bear with its snub snout. Whatever the beast was, it had very strong metal qi. He definitely couldn’t let that thing get too close. He drew his spear from his storage ring and started cycling for lightning. It wasn’t his strongest affinity, but it would work particularly well against the metal qi beast.
The bear-cat hybrid crouched low on the branch and radiated hostility for a brief moment before launching itself at him. Sen swept the spear upward and pushed enough qi into the spearhead that a slender finger of lightning bridged the gap between spear and beast. The attack didn’t kill the bear-cat, but it did make the beast stiffen in pain. Even so, Sen felt it gathering qi for a counterattack. He leapt away, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the strike entirely. Metal qi raked across his left side, shredding cloth and leaving half a dozen shallow cuts down his side and leg.
Sen had the irrational thought he was glad he wasn’t wearing the robes that Auntie Caihong had given him before the pain of the injuries made him stumble. Still, he’d been too well-trained to leave himself entirely undefended. Moving as if under their own control, his hands sent the spear into a tight, brutal arc that connected with the bear-cat’s head. Having never let the lightning pattern go, the hit did double damage. The spearhead itself deprived the beast of an eye, while the lightning lashed into the socket like it had found a new home.
The beast let out a terrible noise that lived in a place between yowling and roaring. Still reacting almost entirely on reflex, Sen reversed the strike and bludgeoned the other side of the spirit beast’s head. It flopped almost bonelessly to the forest floor. His fury roused by injury and pain, Sen nearly abandoned his training. His first instinct was to rush the beast and finish the job. Yet, he was physically off-balance, out of center, so he took a step back, looking to firm himself in a mental circle. That was why the bear-cat’s next attack only left bloody cuts across his stomach instead leaving his organs strewn across the ground. Sen pushed so much qi into the spearhead that it didn’t even look like metal anymore. It looked like he had forged a spearhead of pure lightning. He shoved his killing intent into the spearhead next, focusing it, compressing it until he could fit it all.
As he brought the spear down, the very air shrieked in protest. The bear-cat’s head spun away. Then, an explosion composed of dirt, stone, lighting, and raw killing intent slammed into Sen’s body, launching him backward and opening new wounds on his legs, chest, and head. He struck the ground, bounced, struck again, rolled, and finally slid to a stop. There were no thoughts in the immediate aftermath, just the visceral knowledge that his everything hurt. For once, he’d lost all of his qi cycling techniques. With a groan, he cycled qi out through his channels, and let it seep into his body tissues. The fresh infusion of qi gave him strength, and he could even feel some of the wounds beginning to slowly, but surely, close.
Even so, he knew he’d have to mix himself some medicinal elixirs if he planned on keeping up with the caravan over the next few days. He did make himself go back to look at the spot where his, technique seemed like a strong word to him. He went to where his improvisation had exploded in his face. There was no sign of the bear-cat’s body. It had either been hurled away as he had been or been destroyed outright. Sighing, Sen began limping back to the caravan.
***
By the time the caravan reached Tide’s Rest, Sen had recovered. Everyone in the caravan had stared at him with shocked, horrified eyes as he dragged himself out of the forest. They’d stared at him in amazement as he concocted medicinal brews in nothing but a plain pot, medicinal brews that seemed to work miracles overnight. It wasn’t really miraculous or overnight, but Sen didn’t have the energy or inclination to try to convince them otherwise. He did have to firmly decline the offers of several women in the caravan to help him tend to his wounds. The very obvious disappointment on their faces told Sen that he’d been right to be wary. So, it was with some relief on his part that they entered the city through one of the main gates.
He and the guard captain had agreed that they might as well part ways once the caravan was in the city. It wasn’t like Sen was waiting to get paid, and the odds of an attack the guards couldn’t handle inside the city proper were small. It was a good thing too, because Sen felt another cultivator’s spiritual sense land on him almost as soon as he walked through the gate. In no mood to deal with stupidity, Sen had quickly ducked down a side street and hidden. He almost laughed at the nearly frantic searching of that spiritual sense over the area he was swiftly departing. No, he wasn’t in Tide’s Reach to get involved with other cultivators. He had come here for one reason, and one reason alone. For a mortal, the walk across the city would probably have been exhausting. For Sen, it was just tedious. He found the easternmost gate and was confronted by a skeptical guard.
“Why do you want to go out there?” the guard asked.
“I want to see the ocean.”
“You want to just go out there and look at it?”
“Yes.”
Sen could see that the guard simply couldn’t comprehend why any sane person would want to do that. It wasn’t like Sen had a sane reason for it, either. All he had was a feeling, that persistent tugging that had grown stronger and stronger the closer he got to the ocean.
Sen tried again. “I’ve never been to the coast before. I wanted to see the ocean while I could.”
The ever-increasing skepticism on the guard’s face evaporated and was replaced with a grin. “Grew up inland, did you? Well then, you’re right. You should see the ocean while you can.”
The guard waved him through, and Sen stepped outside the walls of the city. The briny scent that had lingered in the air for the last day or so took on an almost physical presence. Sen took it in for a moment, then made his way down toward the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the shore. Even before he reached the beach, he could feel the tremendous power of the ocean. Yet, it was a slow power, only occasionally roused to fury. He had read about tides, but now he could sense them at work, like a hum that was just barely within the range of hearing. A steady pressure that pushed the water in or pulled it away. Yes, he thought, there is a lesson for me here. Sen could already feel the qi building around him, as if in anticipation of the insights he would glean. He took slow breaths, trying to match them to the crashing of the waves, trying to attune his spirit to the way this vast, beautiful, and, he felt quite certain, sometimes terrible force moved in the world. He could feel the tickle of insight on the very edge of his mind, drawing closer. He relaxed, willing to wait, and as that insight began to take form in his mind and heart…
“Cultivator!”
Ignore it, Sen thought as he desperately tried to maintain the delicate balance he needed for this insight.
“Cultivator!” the voice shouted again. “I am Zhu Fen, of the Stormy Ocean sect. You will face me.”
The shouting, the other cultivator’s spiritual sense washing over the area, and his own distraction shattered the moment. As Sen could very nearly watch that precious bit of enlightenment flee from his grasp, an almost physical anger took hold of him. He didn’t want to face the stupid girl who had stolen this long-sought moment from him. Sen wanted to murder her. Of course, that would just give her what she wanted in the end. Instead, he turned his murderous glare on her and returned injury for injury, denial for denial.
“No.”
This ends Volume 1 of Unintended Cultivator. Sen will return in Volume 2.
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