Heaven's Laws - Lifestone - Chapter 23

When his wife looked at him, he knew what she was thinking. This army of ghosts must have been lingering spirits recently killed by cultivators visiting the monoliths. “Why are there so many?” His Huifen asked.

“Who’s to tell,” the waitress replied. “Someone in town may have scorned a traveling group of adventurers and they sought revenge, or someone was just being careless.”

“So they were the lingering spirits of dire beasts?” Chao asked.

“As far as we can tell. Dire wolves are common to the area, but almost all dire beasts are attracted to the unique qi that gathers here. If it weren’t for godforsaken adventurers like the girl’s parents, our old inn wouldn’t have burnt down.”

“Barra,” the innkeeper’s voice boomed as he marched toward her. “If it weren’t for her Duan family, an untold number of people would’ve died in the attack. They sacrificed their lives for us. I won’t stand for you ridiculing them under my roof.”

The woman bowed her head, and her cheek became blush. “Yes, Master Hong. I didn’t mean heap blame on them. I just…”

“It’s okay, woman. Go apologize to the girl, for she undoubtedly heard you, and take her this.”

The man was holding a slice of pie, which he passed to the waitress.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” the man said. He wore a merchant’s hat and had a few days growth of facial hair that was coming in patchy. “Barra lost most of her belongings in the fire, so she’s understandably bitter.”

“You’re convinced adventurers caused the attack?” Chao asked.

“They are certainly responsible for killing so many beasts, but how so many attacked at once is peculiar. Even if there were hundreds of them out there, its rare for even one of them to go into a frenzy, let alone so many. It’s only happened a few times in this town’s memory, and never with so many at once.”

“And they burnt down your old inn?”

“Yes. There must have been a lamp still lit that was knocked over by one of the lingering spirits while we were out. We gathered everyone and fled to the town center where the local cultivators could protect us. The girl’s parents were two such cultivators. They were adventurers that had settled here to raise the girl, but that didn’t want to be too far away from the monoliths. In the end, the place of their joy was also their downfall.”

“We are saddened by your loss,” Huifen replied. “How long ago was this?”

“The attack…” The man blinked a few times as if trying to resort his thoughts amidst his exhaustion. “It was four days ago now.”

“And you already have a new building?” Chao asked in amazement.

“I had the funds saved to pay for cultivators to do the work. It was up in a day. With their help, it took two more to get this place running again. I wouldn’t normally demand such haste, but I wasn’t the only one without a home. Barra is one of three employees that live here, and the girl needed a place to stay. I know it’s foolish with the lingering spirits still being out there in mass, but…”

“She has no family then?” Huifen said inquisitively.

Chao noticed his wife’s change in demeanor.

“None. I can keep her fed and give her a place to sleep, but I don’t have the time to raise her proper. There are others that might take her in. Many are thinking of leaving this place after what happened.”

He watched his wife as she appraised what the man said. When she looked up at him, he knew she was going to act.

Huifen stood, watching the girl as she was now picking at her pie as well as her mostly full plate. “Has the girl ever shown the desire to take after her parents? They’ve done a good job getting her to the early stages of the blood realm…”

“Before the attack, I’d say yes,” the innkeeper answered. “But now she hardly speaks.”

“I see. My husband and I are friends of the Ice Phoenix Palace. They be more than willing to take her in. What are your thoughts on this?”

“The—it would be a great honor to the girl’s parents,” the man replied, showing the hint of a smile for the first time. “They were rogue cultivators, but the good sort. They spoke nothing but praise for the Ice Phoenix Sect. The only objection would be that they’d want her to have the option of marrying.”

“That’s not a problem. The Ice Phoenix Sect is currently going through a reformation of sorts. Marriage is now being encouraged and that won’t change.”

The man was nodding. “Then that only leave the girl’s willingness and proof that you’ll be true to your word.”

“Proof?”

Straitening himself, the innkeeper didn’t take back what he said. “The girl’s parents were heroes, and I must do right by them. Leaving Yu-yan’s fate in the hand’s of two strangers I had one conversation with isn’t the way to go about things, even at the promise of her being taken in by the Ice Phoenix Sect. Especially then. Some might say that it might be too good to be true.”

Huifen gave the man a sad smile. “That’s fair. Then I’ll talk with the girl, if you don’t mind, then my husband and I will prove to you that we mean her no harm.”

Chao was already standing and was quick to back up what his wife said. “Yes, my Fen’er.” He had to consciously stop himself from grinning at using her fake identity. The context of the conversation helped him.

“Very well,” the man replied, walking with them as the approached the girl.

Watching his wife carefully, Chao stopped with the man when they neared the table to let Huifen approach the girl alone. He’d rarely seen her interact with the younger cultivators in her sect, let alone children. Their time at the Golden Palace wasn’t a good example because of the history between them. Surprisingly, he noticed his wife begin to circulate heart of ice. She rarely did so during social interaction.

“Duan Yu-yan,” Huifen said to gain the girl’s attention.

She glanced up blankly but didn’t shy away from looking her in the face.

“This one is Fen’er—a friend of the Ice Phoenix Palace. I’ve heard of your parents’ bravery and come to make their daughter an offer. Before that, my husband Tao and I will put an end to the threat your parents faced. Do you have the courage to come with us? There is a chance you’ll see your parents one last time.”

When his Huifen looked at him, Chao knew she was remembering what he’d told her in the first days of their meeting. He’d often wished his mother hadn’t reached the sky realm, for then she’d become a lingering spirit in her death, and he’d be able to play for her. He felt his throat tightening but had every intention of following through with his wife’s suggestion.

“Her parents were of the nascent realm?” Huifen asked the innkeeper.

“Earth realm,” he corrected. “Do you really intend—”

“There’s no need to worry. Even if there were tens of thousands of them, they possess no danger under my husband song.”

“And if they’ve been spelled by an evil witch or warlock?”

Chao almost laughed at the man’s use of terms. “Then my wife will be there to end them before they become a threat.”

“Even sky realm cultivators would at the mercy of so many. These weren’t just low realm dire beasts, but several of them were in the nascent and earth realms.”

“Then call the cultivators of your fair town if it makes you more comfortable,” Huifen said. “This is not a threat we can allow to continue as it is. The more powerful a lingering spirit was in life, the longer it will take for it to dissipate naturally. If the attack was only four days ago, then it’s still a very real possibility that it could happen again. We will take care of it with or without your blessing.”

“I–I, Barra,” the man yelled.

She ran over in a hurry. “Master Hong?”

“Run to the town center and tell the mayor our friends here are going to take care of the ghost threat. How?” He said, turning back to Huifen.

“Where is the more important question. Is there a direction most of the lingering spirits fled? And is there a place with a large clearing in that direction?”

“Uh, yes. Yes, they mostly fled to the west. There is a large area near there used for festivals.”

“Can you lead the way?”

“I can.”

Huifen then leaned down to get on the little girl’s level. Her heart of ice technique was no longer circulating. “Would you like to come with me to see your parents one last time?”

Showing the first signs of life, the girl nodded in the affirmative.

The girl took his wife’s hand.

The innkeeper knelt down and asked the girl if she was sure she wanted to come. She gave a single firm nod. Standing, he turned to Huifen and then Chao. “I’m trusting you.”

It was a short walk to leave the town’s boarders. The distance to the festival grounds was a little further. When they arrived, there were already three sky realm cultivators hovering there just overhead to meet them.

“What’s the meaning of this?” One man in dirt-stained robes called out.

The best dressed one placed his hand on the man’s shoulder and flew forward. He even descended a few meters to seem less imposing. “I am Mayor Zhuang. We were informed you intend to take care of the spirits that recently attacked us. I must ask that you don’t interfere. There was enough loss of life with one attack. Your intentions are honorable, but we can’t bare another if anything goes wrong.”

Chao quickly scanned their cultivations and concluded they must have all been from decent sized sects. Their cores were pure and without cracks, which were common amongst rogue cultivators. They were powerful enough to keep a settlement like this in one piece against normal dire beast attacks. Even those at the sky realm if they worked together. It made him think that hundreds of lingering spirits was likely an underestimation.

He felt pity for this trio as he addressed them. “Mayor Zhuang, I am Tao and this is my wife Fen’er. I can guarantee that there will be no danger to you town.”

“Hello, friend Tao. Once again, I acknowledge your good intentions, but we can’t go solely on your word when people’s lives are at stake.”

Turning to his wife, he surrounded the two of them in a small sound barrier. “Should we show them?”

“What’s the point of hiding our cultivation if we reveal it every time we meet someone new?” She replied.

“It’s just the easiest method. Do you have any other ideas?”

“Maybe. Follow my lead?”

“Yes, my Fen’er.”

Bending down, she addressed the girl. “Hold on to Master Hong’s name for a minute while I discuss something with the mayor.”

The girl nodded then tiptoed over to the innkeeper.

Without a word, Huifen left her sash in place and flew up to meet the sky realm mayor.

The other two sky realm cultivators flew forward to support him in case things turned violent. The man held out his arms to steady them.

“As you can see, my husband and I are disguising our cultivations. We have no plan of telling you more, but I’m revealing this much to you so that you can be confident in our guarantee. Even if my husband fails and there’s thousands of lingering spirits, I can promise you no one will be harmed. If you wish to gather everyone together in one place to keep them safe, we will accommodate you, but we do not need nor ask for your permission to take care of this threat.”

“You dare,” the sky realm cultivator who first called out to them said.

He was just a few meters from Huifen, when he attacked her with a weak attack that held no killing intent.

She didn’t move. The force and his water technique splashed apart against her defensive aura. She didn’t even look at the man but address the mayor again. “If you prefer to bring the entire town here to spectate, then you will hear no complaints from us. No one may interfere, however, or for their own safety, I will force them to comply. We are not asking permission, but it’s not because we hold no respect for you or your fair town. It is just the opposite. Much has been thrust upon your shoulders in the last few days. We will take that responsibility off you for a few hours. It’s the least we can do.”

When the man that attacked her thought to do so again with a much more powerful attack, the mayor had had enough, and blasted him in the side with a powerful burst of qi.

“Old Zhuang,” the man shouted. Chao was quick to shield the girl and innkeeper from the volume of sound a sky realm cultivator could produce in his fury.

“Shut it, Bartolomeo. You aren’t her match and I’d hate for your ego to get you killed after what we’ve just suffered. Even you’d be missed.”

“Mayor,” the innkeeper called out. “Friend Fen’er and her husband have intimate connections with the Ice Phoenix Sect. They’re offering to take Yu-yan with them to give her a home and future.”

“This is true?”

“It is,” Huifen replied. “The Sage of First Snow, Pangfua will be visiting this area in a few days with her sect. Her and I have some friendship. She won’t hesitate to take the girl in.”

“Very well. Then what do you suggest. Should we summon our people to the town center as a precaution?”

She turned back to get Chao’s opinion. “Husband, what say you?”

He scanned the field where the festival took place and found an area where many rough wooden benches and logs were cut smooth to be used for seating. There was no stage to speak of, but that didn’t matter.

“It would be better to bring everyone here and have them sit so that any lingering spirits that happen to come from the other side of town won’t scare anyone. They won’t harm anyone directly, but I can’t guarantee that if they’re attacked. It will also be easier to protect everyone from my song if they’re all in one place.”

“Bring them here?” The mayor asked woodenly.

“Yes. If any of them lost family or friends, as long as their lingering spirits haven’t dissipated, they’re likely to see them one last time.”

“That’s impossible,” Bartolomeo said from where he flew now off to the side. “Isn’t it? Won’t they be just as savage as the dire beast spirits?”

“Not this time.”

“Then we’ll summon the town. Do you need time to set up?”

Removing his new pipa from his spatial ring, Chao then shook his head. “I have all that I need.”