Book 3: Chapter 36: The Choices of Others
The argument had lasted for nearly half an hour and Sen hadn’t gotten anywhere with Lifen. She’d dug in her heels about staying and the worst part was that Sen couldn’t refute most of what she was saying. Yet, he could also see tendrils of that same gray energy floating around her heart and her head. She might not have been completely brainwashed, but she had most certainly been influenced strongly by someone else. Sen wanted to be surprised, but he’d pieced together enough context clues to know that he’d been in that cultivation trance for months, maybe even as much as half a year. The old man and his followers had had plenty of time to reinforce their view of the world. Yet, the reasons she was giving him weren’t entirely without merit. Case in point.
“But I’ll be safe here,” she insisted. “No demonic cultivator will ever come this far out into the wilds looking for me. They don’t care about me. They just want to get at you. You said it yourself. There’s nowhere you can leave me that will be safe out in the regular world.”N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
“Maybe so. But there has to be a better choice than this cult.”
“It’s not a cult!” she screamed at him.
“Not wanting it to be a cult isn’t the same thing as it not being one. More to the point, did you forget how we ended up here? Did you forget that old man beat me within an inch of my life to force me to come here?”
“That was a misunderstanding,” said Lifen with absolute confidence.
“No, it wasn’t. He very clearly meant to force us to come here. And when we said no, he shattered my rib cage. If I hadn’t been a body cultivator, that hit would have killed me, Lifen.”
For the first time, she seemed uncertain. “I didn’t know that your injuries were that bad.”
“Of course, you didn’t because that’s how you wear someone’s resistance down. You keep them separated, alone, lonely. You make them so desperate for the company of others that they’ll do almost anything to get it.”
“So, you’re saying that the only reason I’m saying these things is because I was too weak and stupid to resist. Not like you and Lo Meifeng. The core cultivators. The ones that got picked to be special. Master Lan was right about you. You’re so sure you’re right about everything. So sure that you know what’s best. There’s no room for anyone else’s thoughts or ideas.”
Sen wanted to blame all of the poison that just spilled from Lifen’s lips on Lan Zi Rui, but he didn’t think he could. That dead man walking had no doubt helped put some spin on her words, but the naked jealousy Lifen felt toward him and Lo Meifeng looked and felt all too genuine. He’d seen hints and signs of it before. Cutting remarks here and there. He’d just thought it would pass. He’d assumed that, as she advanced, she would grow more comfortable with the nature and vagaries of cultivation as a process. It was clear that hadn’t happened, and Lan Zi Rui had had months to help stoke those flames. Oh, he was sure all would be forgiven if he decided to stay, but that was the trap.
The old man had created a situation where Sen would have to choose between going against his own better judgment or abandoning Lifen to whatever fate she would have with the cult. He understood now that no words he said would sway her. They had distorted the truth just enough, mixed it up just enough with her real feelings, that she was absolutely certain that he was wrong, and she was right. Even worse, he knew that he couldn’t just force her to leave with them. If he did, she’d see it as the kidnapping that Lan Zi Rui had actually committed. She’d leave and try to come back to the temple at the first opportunity, and probably get herself killed in the process. He'd been hemmed in by the choices of others. He regarded her for a moment, letting the silence build while he weighed his choices. He couldn’t do what he thought was right, but maybe he could provide her with a shield of sorts.
“Very well,” he said and started to walk away.
“Where are you going?” she demanded. “We’re not done.”
Sen looked back at her and said, “Aren’t we? I certainly am. Or did you have more insults you wanted to get off your chest before I go?”
“I truly hope you don’t think I’m lying.”
“It doesn’t matter,” coughed the old man. “It’s not like you can get out of here.”
“No?” said Sen. “Do you think I can’t recognize a formation when I see one?”
Once Sen had learned how to identify the old man’s energy, it had been easy enough to see it all over the temple compound. Most importantly, Sen had seen the shimmering curtain of energy around the compound. The old man had been so certain that Sen wouldn’t be able to actually leave, and that curtain explained why. While Sen couldn’t identify specifically what it was designed to do, he could make a few educated guesses. He’d be willing to bet the curtain only let out the people that Lan Zi Rui decided it would let out. He probably fed the people here some story about how only the righteous, meaning the most effectively brainwashed, could pass outside of the compound. When the old man heard the word formation, his eyes jerked up to Sen.
“Yeah,” said Sen. “I saw it.”
Then, he withdrew his killing intent so that he was only cycling lightning. Normally, that would be a mindlessly easy task for Sen, but not when he was directing nine distinct flows of it. Even with his newly improved ability to split his focus, that took work. He lifted his jian skyward and a bolt of lightning pierced the sky. Then, nine smaller bolts fell from on high onto specific points inside the temple compound. There were shouts and screams as nine carefully placed stone statues exploded into shards and dust. There was murmuring and confusion as the curtain of energy flickered into and out of visibility before it collapsed with an audible pop. Despite the casual way that Sen carried off the entire act, it had been a carefully calculated choice to destroy only nine of the statues. He needed enough of them gone to bring the curtain down so he and Lo Meifeng could leave. But he suspected that field did as much to keep powerful spirit beasts out as people in, so he didn’t want to bring it down forever.
“You wretched boy,” shouted Lan Zi Rui. “I’ll tear out your soul for this.”
“The heavens have already chastised you twice today. Are you really willing to test their patience again?”
Sen could almost watch as the corrupt old man tried to find a way to justify attacking them then and there. But the memory of those world-shaking thunderclaps was just too fresh in the man’s mind. He bared his teeth at Sen.
“Get out of my temple.”
Sen considered tossing off one last parting shot at the man, but he didn’t really want to fight the old man. The threat of heavenly retribution was a convenient bluff, but not one Sen had any confidence in. The heavens were a fickle ally at best. Sure, they hadn’t been happy with the old man trying to steal heavenly qi, but they had also let the old man capture Sen, Lifen, and Lo Meifeng in the first place. It was better to just leave before the old man’s rage faded enough for him to make the same calculations Sen just had. Sen turned to Lo Meifeng.
“Shall we?”
Her eyes shifted to a spot over Sen’s shoulder. He looked back and saw Lifen there directing a baleful look at him. He sighed and answered the unasked question.
“She’s not coming.”
Sen watched as a dozen unasked questions passed through Lo Meifeng’s mind. Then, her lips pressed into a hard line, and she nodded. Without a backward glance, the pair left the awful temple, the old cult leader, and his victims behind.
