Chương 299: Silent Sage (II)

Long Tao disappeared shortly after his rather... hmm, let's call it passionate, rambling over the old leader of this place. I'm a bit scared over what he'll do, but I don't really think it's gonna happen anytime soon. Despite being a legendary monster, he's ultimately still nowhere near strong enough to directly face that other monster; as such, his chance will come from long-term preparation, and since we've just come here, such a thing should take a while. Until then, we should be fine. Should.

As the day passed, I saw kids streaming in and out of the house rather consistently--they always left in pairs, at least, often going as three. I also noticed that Rayce always seemed to give them something just before they left, and after the third time, I walked over to their room and saw him hunched over a table, drawing something onto a parchment.

"A-ah, Master!" he saw me just as he finished, yelping and jumping a bit.

"Forgive me! I didn't notice you come in!"

"Really? You didn't notice someone who purposefully made as little noise as possible so as to not disturb you? Hmm, Rayce. How could you?"

"He he," he smiled sheepishly, scratching the top of his head.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah! Yes, I've been drawing as many of Breathless Words as I can," he said.

"Aah. That's what you've been giving them?"

"Hm. If they rip it, it allows them to stay underwater for up to three or four hours. It's, it's my first time drawing this word, so it's not that efficient yet."

"That's amazing." Honestly, it really was. I can hold my breath for just about twenty minutes, give or take a few, and the kids are somehow at about half of that. Buying them hours under there?

"Why don't you join them?"

"Ah, no, I'm best suited to stay here," he said.

"Drawing Words for them. I learned in the forest that I'm not a fighter. When I saw others having to get hurt over and over again just to cover for me... I felt so helpless. All I could do was rip a few Words, and buy a few seconds of time." I don't really remember it being that way; I instead remember him covering and putting out fires wherever he could. He obviously isn't anywhere near as good at fighting as anyone else, but he's got a good head on his shoulders, perhaps more so than anyone save for Long Tao.

"That's when I swore to myself," he continued.

"That I will never leave us that unprepared again. This is just one of the Words--I've also given them a Propelling Word that will allow them to quickly move in the water for a little while."

"... I've never really asked you," I said, sitting down on a nearby chair.

"But how are you doing?"

"A-ah?"

"We never talk about it," I said.

"What happened back on the Eternal Range."

"..."

"We don't have to talk about it, of course. I mean, we did, once, very briefly. I just know that, if I were you, especially if I was back to my stupid sixteen-year-old self, I'd... be haunted by it. In fact, I once made a fool out of myself in front of a Young Lady as well as her friends--am still haunted by it. And, comparatively, that's a fart in the wind." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Heh," he chuckled, lowering his head.

"If you don't want to--""--no, it's fine," he said.

"I... I'd be lying if I said it's perfect. Sometimes, I wake up thinking I'm still there, trapped in that place, and you... never came. I'll get better, I know. I just... need time."

"Any dreams where I do come like a dashing hero to help you?"

"Pfft."

"Huh? No dreams like that? Hooh. Maybe I need to work on my entrances?"

"Ha ha ha," he burst into laughter as I smiled gently, ruffling his hair almost by instinct.

"Take all the time in the world, Rayce. And if you ever need anything, I'm always here. Not just me. All of them."

"I know," he smiled.

"Thank you, Master."

"Hm. Alright, get back to work, then. I'll go and sightsee the lake a bit. Feng'er, want to come with Master to the lake?"

"Yes, yes I do!" he peeked from behind the doorframe rather comically.

"It is rude to eavesdrop, Feng'er."

"A-ah...!" His expression dropped rather quickly into one of guilt as I watched Rayce stifle his laugh.

"It's alright, Master; I told him he can listen," Rayce said, smiling stealthily. Xing Feng looked at the young man with awe in his eyes, and even I just barely held back from laughing at it.

"Alright, let's go." I stood up and walked out as the young boy grabbed my hand. More of him was coming out, but he still remained largely withdrawn and silent; unsurprisingly, he mostly just shadowed Light, trying to get her attention any way he could. While he did seem to enjoy being doted on by Wan Lan and Dai Xiu, he mostly either still hung around me or stayed silent in their midst.

We made our way to the lake rather slowly, navigating through the sea of people coming and going in the same direction--some had excited expressions, some sour, some were wounded, and some were so pristine you'd think they were just on a walkway. The lake's shore was absolutely brimming with audience--that's right, audience. It turns out, most people who come here, apparently, don't come for the treasures and such--they come to be little observers.

Just as I thought there'd be no room for us, the crowd started to... well, part. I really can't explain it, but it kind of looked like they recognized my celebrity status and just gave way--which is bull, of course; none of these could have known who the hell I was, which further begged the question of why they did it. I don't know why, and from the looks of their expressions, neither did they.

I took the opportunity, though, and walked all the way to the front, just up against a railing on top of a platform slightly overlooking the lake. At the same time, I picked Xing Feng up and hung him on my back while trying to look for the kids. It was difficult to see anything, really, as the water had twinges of scarlet and was in a constant flux; every thirty seconds or so, somebody would jet out of it, either wounded or running for their life.

A few among them would be cradling something against their chest, and even fewer would immediately jet out of the city completely. Those that did, however, would immediately cause dozens upon dozens of the audience members to follow them--I imagine if they were caught, they would also die. Pretty diabolical, but hey, what isn't in this damn world? The first of the kids that I saw was Xi Zhao--he emerged from the lake rather casually, unlike most others who flew out.

Despite the fact that he was practically strutting, nobody attacked him from within the lake. He must have seen me at some point, as his quite dark and threatening expression softened into a beaming smile, and he sprinted over like a bolt of lightning, bowing and stretching out his arms while presenting a strange, shimmering rock to me.

"Master, I got this!" he said.

"I don't know what it is, but a bunch of rabid dogs tried to steal it from me, so it must have some value! Please accept it!" no. Just, no. I refuse to believe they are this socially stupid. Forget cultivation, I need to lock these bastards up for a few months and teach them some goddamn basics of surviving in this world.

I could only sigh and take the stone, as he would otherwise undergo an existential crisis--my fault, really, since I didn't do that much to combat their ever-increasing zealotry--which, judging by the fiery expressions of everyone around me, must have some value. Haah, Xi Zhao--oh no. No, Dai Xiu, don't look this way. Goddammit!!... Light, please don't. Please, please-- Hm. Why did I, for a second, think we could remain low-key? No, seriously, why? Is there something profusely wrong with my brain?

Did coming over to this world result in me becoming even stupider than I was?... or was I always this stupid? Ooh, that's a scary thought. Almost as scary as these three handing over glistening things to me in public, in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes, and doing it all so casually you'd think they were pebbles they picked up at the side of the lake. Haah.