Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 56

A week later, Chao sat with Father Tu discussing concepts and laws. Li Qiang was playing the borrow game with his study partner, while the girls were huddled on the other side of the chamber. Practice was going well, and Huifen was very hands on as she competed with each of them in turn. Most of her time was spent with Fairy Zhu, however.

The life had been sucked out of the group since the loss of Fairy Daiyu but lose was something he had a lot of experience with. There was a haze. It made exuberance difficult, but it wasn’t gone. It hid. He’d experienced real lifelessness when his mother had died. Even then, he and his father had each other, which was what eventually forced them to go on. There were more people present this time. The haze didn’t have the same power. There was too much life to suffocate. Too much compassion—affection.

“So either it’s an excessively complex concept, or made up of many…” Tu said, thinking out loud.

He nodded. “What governs the array refinement process, the refinement process for any treasure for that matter, is dependent upon the refiner’s blood, the item, the link created between the two, and the natural rules that govern the process. There’d have to be at least one concept for each variable, and they’d have to work together, which would be governed by its own concepts. Is there one concept you could single out to do what your ask? Perhaps. But if you master it and happen to be wrong, you’d have to start over with a different one.”

His father-in-law’s resolve didn’t faulter. He had a shewed gleam in his eye. “But if you could pull it off. Can you imagine breaking the link during a fight, or changing it so that the weapon rebels during an assault and listens to you?”

Tu had come to Chao with this idea on his own. As a merchant who relied on arrays and defensive treasures, he could understand where the idea had come from. It would be genius if he could pull it off. If someone really could manipulate the link between a cultivator and their weapon, it could prove extremely powerful. Frighten so. Maybe it wouldn’t win the fight, but if it were possible to get a person’s weapon to reject them… Their own martial technique could blow up in their face.

“I’ll help you if you want to pursue it, father” he replied, cupping the man’s shoulder to encourage him.

“Very good,” Tu said, bringing his hands together. “I might not be able to compete with higher realm cultivators like my daughter and her husband, but just you wait. The time will come when not even a Divine Monarch’s weapon is safe.”

***

It had been peaceful since the murderers were caught. Elder Harnish had pulled his ruse, but Shoi-ming expected no less from the man. Today had been especially quiet. He often sat as guard and disciplinarian in the third floor’s Fire Cultivation Chamber. One of the benefits of his bulk was the intimidation factor. He wasn’t shy to use it to his advantage when it suited his purpose, but today the chamber was empty except for his own juniors and the fairies of the Night Pearl Sect.

The purple veiled fairies were abnormally quiet for girls their age, but he’d grown used to it by now. Perhaps it was just the secretive nature of their training. He thought it might seem like a game to the younger ones. It’s just as they matured the game didn’t end and they somehow all forgot they’d been playing one.

There were still some of the Morning Midst Village disciples in the next chamber with his joint sect juniors. There were so few of them, that he didn’t see them as a threat. If anything, he felt sorry for them. To have a whole wall of ice fairies sitting across from you not hiding their suspicions after what had happened…

After the Morning Midst Village had all but retreated from the spire, their sect had been given an entire ten additional seats they could utilize, and they did. At this time of the day, nearly noon, the majority of their joint sect was in the spire. There were a few elders outside, and those who cultivated at night were sleeping. Even Pangfua was in the Ice Cultivation Chamber with her fairies.

The sage had continued to visit the vault to scan the area to make sure nothing was out of place. Shoi-ming had spoken to her, suggesting she take advantage while she could and ascend the tower to do some cultivating of her own. He was willing to watch the Fire and Ice Phoenix disciples while she was gone. Sage’s Chao and Huifen were below on the second floor, and the elders knew to reach out to them if there were any serious issues. As dutiful as ever, she’d refused. He’d have to insist next time he had the chance.

Movement caught his eye. He glanced over from his meditative state, seated on the stone bench against the wall. There was no need to make himself look bigger. He already had the largest physique of anyone in the spire. All he did was shift forward in the chair. The Morning Midst Village disciples all flinched as he did even though they were on the clear opposite sides of the room from one another. He sat by the entryway to have the best vantage against any enemy that might be ascending the tower. They’d all have to pass this way.

There was one elder at the end of the small group. Only six of them including the man. All wore their wooden armor. To a fire cultivator, they looked like people dressed in kindling.

They were passing through the room to head downward. Shoi-ming made note that no one was coming to replace them.

Their elder was in the front and wore a tight smile. It was as fake as any of theirs, but when he nodded respectfully, Shoi-ming nodded back.

The last person in line was lagging behind the rest. So much so that they’d left the room before he was half way through it. He seemed so deep in thought that he didn’t notice when he dropped something. It looked like a toggle used in the fastening of the of armor.

One girl from the Night Pearl Sect was the first to bend down and pick it up. She called out to him, but so meekly he didn’t notice. She sat there, waiting for him to respond. When he didn’t, she stood to her feet and followed after him. The tightening of her fist were a good indicator that she wasn’t too happy being ignored.

Just a moment ago he was pitying the young men of the Morning Midst Village for having to cultivator across from a room full of ice fairies, but that didn’t mean he’d safe one from getting a verbal thrashing. If he butted in to every confrontation between juniors, they’d never learn anything.

***

His normal amiable expression was missing and Baros’s eyes bore a line into the ground as he walked. From the outside he seemed troubled and oblivious to what was going on around him, but he noticed everything and were throwing them into his calculations. There had been no perfect moment come up. Not even a decent one. And now it was too late.

No. His Dvora was not muddle headed. She’d understand that the wooden toggle falling wasn’t by chance. He’d even heard her bend of and call out to him. Barely heard her. That had to mean that she’d realized what he intended. It must.

When she called out to him, he was alone in the next chamber. His walking had slowed even more. His sect had gone on without him. They were too focused on what was about to happen than to worry about him.

He didn’t respond but kept going. She didn’t reaching him right away, so she was following his lead.

Only when they were in the next chamber did he sidestep the entrance. He waited until she had followed him to take her hand. This chamber had a side path connected to it, so he dragged her with him. He couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t come this way, but there was no time to delay.

Pulling her in, he spun and pulled her veil up to look her dead in the eye. “We have to leave now.”

The blush faded from her cheeks, but she stood her ground “Why?”

“He’s coming. Elder Harnish.”

“Is he insane? The Ice Phoenix Overlord is a few rooms away.”

“He knows. He’s counting on. Now stop, Dvora. This will give us just the window we need to get away, but we have to go. And then we have to move fast. Without stopping for at least a day. We’ll head straight to the Landbridge Continent. From there… It doesn’t matter.”

She skipped right over how it might affect her personally to the real heart of the matter. “He’s going to war with the Ice and Fire Phoenix Sects? No. He’s not that foolish. If he wants her here… What did you do, Baros? How did you earn this money?” The envelope he’d given her appeared in her hand.

He stepped back, shaking his head. “What? You think I hurt people? Or that I’d be involved in what Harnish is up to? I stood in a room with a divine defensive aura and thought of our future together so that it wouldn’t sense me as hostel and vaporize me. That’s how I got money, Dvora. Now the sage is coming, and we got to go.”

Before he’d even finished, her hand and reached his chest and she drew near. “What is he going to do?” She asked.

He wetted his lips. “Kill them.”

“A sage. And a peak sky realm cultivator?”

He leaned down, putting his forehead against hers. “He’s setting a trap.”

She gave him a peck on the lips and drew back. “Then… Find Tong Tao and Tong Fen. Tel them exactly what you told me.”

“Why?” He grabbed her by the wrist. “We have to go.”

“They’re overlords, Baros.” She started to grin but faltered. “At least, the husband is. I tried to blackmail a sage and he didn’t kill me. I owe them.”

“No,” he said confidently as if that alone would make it true.

“I told you they caught the murders. But I didn’t tell you I saw one of them pinned to the wall. A spear in one shoulder. And a sword in the other, up to the hilt. What else could do that?”

He had no response. What was there to say? Tao was such a gracious individual. He seemed like an easy target to take advantage of. And he’d been so quick to compromise.

She grabbed his hand that was loose at his side and brought it to her chest. With her other hand she held it. He still held her by the wrist… Loosening his grip, he grabbed the back of her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I have to warn them, Baros. I despise my sect, but I won’t see them harmed. And.” She smiled, but tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “It’s the right thing to do. I’m not honest. I’m not a righteous person. But my betrothed wants me to be honest. So let me try.”

He knew he didn’t have time to delay, but he had to think. If they did this… He nodded deeply. “I will warn them. And you’ll—”

“You warn Tao and Fen’er. I’ll warn my elder and the Fire and Ice Phoenix Sects.”

He kissed her on the forehead, hard. Then he released her. “Go.”