Sen watched the woman as his patience slowly burned away. He supposed if he hadnt been immunized to all loveliness by the unearthly beauty of Lai Dongi, he might have been taken off-guard by this woman. Almond-shaped eyes that were wide with surprise and fear stared at him. She had high cheekbones and delicate features with full lips that had parted in shock, as if she ant to speak but had forgotten how words worked. Hed felt her lurking since back when hed bought those vegetables from that hilarious farr. Sen smirked a little in his head at the way the man had painted rural life as a series of misadventures that usually ended with soone falling into a pile of ox dung, getting chased around the village by an angry spouse, or a child apologizing to an elder while everyone glared sternly and tried to keep straight faces. Hed have to track that man down again soday, just to listen to so more of his stories.
Ever since then, though, this woman had been trailing him. What was so interesting about buying vegetables, anyway? She never interfered or got too close, but Sen had been chased enough by people who ant him harm to be thoroughly done with finding any novelty in being tracked by anyone, even a beautiful cultivator. No, he thought, especially a beautiful cultivator. He expected that she could get what she wanted out of most people with a smile and implied promises. As the silence dragged on and on, Sen found his annoyance growing. Sure, hed startled her but this was growing silly.
You do know how to speak, dont you? asked Sen when his patience was down to a dim, flickering candle fla inside of him.
His words seed to be enough to bring her out of whatever fear trance she was in because she finally started talking.
I am Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion Blade Sect.
Sen let a groan escape his lips as he lowered his jian and cast a hateful look at the sky.
Another sect? Seriously? Well, no. Just no, said Sen before he shook his head at the woman who seed baffled by his words. Look. Im sure your sect is great or powerful or so other positive word, but I really dont have the energy to deal with any more sects right now. So, please stop following , and tell your elders not to make any more of these.
Sen held up the compass and then crushed it into a tiny ball before he turned and threw it into the forest. He looked over at the woman who had cried out in horror as he destroyed the tracking treasure.
What have you done? she demanded. That was a priceless sect treasure.
Im not a fan of being hunted, said Sen in a cold tone that seed to bring Li Yi Nuo up short. But I suppose I should give you sothing to make up for the loss. Here. Im told these would be valuable to most sects.
Sen conjured a canvas sack from a storage ring and dropped a couple of dozen healing elixirs into it. He tossed the bag to the sect woman he wanted to escape as soon as possible. Her eyes bulged when she scanned the bag.
These are she started.
Potent, wonderful, other nice words. I get it. Our business is done. Have a safe journey back to your sect.
Sen managed to take a few steps before the woman shouted at him.
Wait!
Gritting his teeth, Sen turned and looked at her.
Im trying very hard to keep all of this civil and not start a war with your sect. That being said, Im also very, very tired of strangers and sects intruding on my life. So, Li Yi Nuo of the Vermilion Blade Sect, please help to accomplish that goal.
Her face shifted through several expressions before it finally landed on resolve. Damn it, thought Sen.
A few months ago, were you to the west of here, traveling south? she asked.
The question caught Sen a little flat-footed. He had expected her to start making demands or spouting nonsense about the glory and the honor of her sect. He frowned at her.
I was. Why?
Did you encounter mbers of my sect on that road?
Sen frowned a little harder. Where is she going with this? He couldnt help but wonder if she was going to declare so kind of duel on the spot depending on his answer. A big part of him thought he should just turn and walk away, but this situation was different from most of his encounters with sect mbers. Of course, he didnt know what she wanted to know.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I have no idea. I usually stop listening to soone when the word sect cos out of their mouth. Once theyre out of sight, I never think about them again. Its possible I crossed paths with them, but I doubt Id rember unless they made kill them.
A look of genuine anger crossed Li Yi Nuos face at his words. He didnt have any vivid mory of a life-or-death struggle during that trip south. Still, it was possible that it just hadnt stuck with him.
Is that what happened? asked Sen Did soone kill a mber of your sect?
Kill? No. That would have at least been clean. Soone afflicted three of our outer disciples with a technique of tornt.
Three? murmured Sen, sothing stirring in his mories of that murky ti after hed left that dood village.
A technique that attacks the heart, the mind, and the soul. Then, they were left to die on the road. I found them and returned them to the sect. With the help of a specialist, the elders managed to make that treasure into sothing that could track the person who did it. It led to you, she said with a snarl.
Sen wasnt even seeing Li Yi Nuo anymore. He was seeing a washed-out mockery of a mory in which three fools refused to leave him be. He saw it as that fog of shadow, divine qi, sorrow, and sothing else invaded those three. He hadnt fully understood what he was doing at the ti. His mind and emotions had been so compromised. What had the other thing been? It hit him. Judgnt. The last component had been judgnt. He pulled away from the mory to see Li Yi Nuo glaring at him.
What? he asked.
Was it you?
Yes, he said.
Apparently, she hadnt been expecting him to simply admit it because he was walking away by the ti she collected her thoughts.
Stop! she commanded.
Sen didnt even bother to look back at her. He just kept walking.
Stop! You must return to the sect with to undo this thing that youve done.
Sen did stop that ti. He gave her a long look, so shed know that he thought about his answer.
No.
No? No to what?
No to all of it. First of all, youre assuming that I want to undo it. Second of all, youre assuming that I can undo it. Neither of those things are true. Given that information, theres no point in going.
Li Yi Nuo looked flabbergasted at Sens words. You dont want to undo it? Those n are suffering.
That was the point. Ill admit, I wasnt really in the right state of mind to understand that technique when I used it on them. I didnt fully know or care what it would do. It was simply an alternative to slaughtering them. So, I took it.
What does it do?
Its judgnt. I threw in a small ocean of sorrow too, but thats not really what its for.
Judgnt? Whose judgnt? Yours?
Mine? asked Sen. Do you really think any judgnt of mine could persist for months? Its divine judgnt. Why do you think its lasted this long? Why do you think I cant undo it? Im not the one punishing them. Im not the architect of their pain. Theyre being punished by their own actions.
What are you talking about? What does that even an?
I an that the technique forces them to see and understand what their actions wrought from the perspective of the heavens and the perspective of people who were affected by those actions.
No. No, this technique ca from you. You did it. You can undo it.
You arent hearing . Im not saying I cant because I cant be bothered with it. Im saying that I cannot. I am incapable of doing it.
Thats a lie, fud Li Yi Nuo. The cultivator can always stop their own techniques. Why would this technique be the exception.
Because theres divine qi woven into that technique. Ive learned the hard way that divine qi does what it wants to do and nothing else. I cant make it stop doing what its doing any more than I can stop the heavens from sending tribulations. If those n are still suffering, its because the heavens think they havent learned what they need to, yet.
You must return to the sect with and explain this to the elders.
No.
Why not?
Because Im not stupid. Your elders already know. Theyve already tried to break that technique using every thod they can think of and failed. The only thing left to try is killing , which also wont work, but theyd do it anyway. So, why would I ever surrender myself to people who intend to kill ?
Li Yi Nuo seed at a loss before she said, To atone.
Atone? asked Sen. Atone for what?
What you did to those n is unspeakable. Honor demands you surrender yourself.
Sen burst out laughing. Honor? Oh, you simply must et this guy I know. Hes a big fan of talking about honor. ? Not so much.
Judgnts Gale, the divine wind, isnt interested in honor?
Sen rolled his eyes. Dont believe every story you hear. Listen, you arent going to be able to convince to co of my own volition. Since your sect sent you here alone, Im going to assu that you arent weak. They probably loaded you down with a lot of other treasures and tools to either bring to them or kill outright. You might even be able to do it, but it wont co cheap. The most likely scenarios are that we either kill each other or I kill you.
You really think youre better than ?
Sen sighed. How have you spent most of your ti over the last five years?
What?
In the last five years, what have you been doing?
Why does that matter? asked Li Yi Nuo.
Humor .
Ive spent most of that ti cultivating and training with my master. Why?
Now ask the sa question.
I dont see the point of this.
The answer is killing. Ive spent most of the last five years running from one life-or-death situation to the next. The sad fact of the matter is that, despite my best efforts, I have beco a very efficient killer. I dont have a real conflict with you. I dont want to kill you. Please dont put in a position where I have to prove to you how good I am at ending peoples lives.
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