Chương 372: Ghosts of the Mine (XVIII)

Xi Zhao was a touch confused as to why he was following Senior Brother Tao into the forest well past midnight. It wasn't just him--Rayce and Light were with them, too. He simply told them to follow him, as it was Master's will, and the three obeyed without much thought. Now that the darkness had surrounded him, however, he felt a bit uneasy. The answer, though, was simple--and it came in the form of a pack of demonic beasts that suddenly attacked them.

Xi Zhao drew the sword out rather lazily and cut through two of the beasts' necks, ending their lives immediately. It was only then that he realized they were boars since it made little difference to him.

"Every night," Senior Brother said.

"I will guide some of you out here so you can kill demonic beasts."

"Do we have to fight the weak ones, Senior Brother?" Rayce asked.

"Yes."

"Why?" Xi Zhao pressed.

"Because Master said so."

'Because Master said so' may just be the most powerful combination of four words that Xi Zhao could think of at the moment. Not just for him, he imagined, but for everyone--from Light to Wan Lan. If there was a set of words to immediately shut them all up and get them to do something, it was those four. Not for a moment did Xi Zhao think that Senior Brother was lying; though apathetic on the surface, he perhaps cared about Master the most out of them all. Even if Master was a bit oblivious to it, the others knew.

Xi Zhao had a feeling that, should it ever come to that, he would outright kill the rest of them in order to save Master. The scary part about that, Xi Zhao shuddered, was that the rest of them... would likely ask him to do it. Growing up, even as he dreamt of getting into a Sect and becoming a cultivator, Xi Zhao had never once thought he would become like this.

He swore he'd respect his Master and study hard, but the core motive of his wants was selfish: he wanted to become a cultivator because it sounded freeing. After all, cultivators could roam the world untethered, unbound wholly, free to do whatever it was they desired. And yet, here he was, following along a Master of his, entertaining dubiously harrowing ideas such as, 'If I had to die for Master to live, of course I'd die!'

On the opposite, he was fairly certain that their Master might quite literally outright kill himself should that ever happen. Even if he was young, Xi Zhao had felt the duplicity of the world a fair number of times; beyond simply being given things that no one else could likely offer them, everyone, not just him, grew to understand that the strange, slightly eccentric Master of theirs was different.

Even now, well over a year into their relationship, Xi Zhao felt that the man treated him as a kid first and a martial artist second. Despite having witnessed what not just Xi Zhao was capable of, but what all of them could do, that all still, somehow, came secondary.

"Snap out of it," Senior Brother Long Tao warned.

"More are coming." That night, Xi Zhao alone killed seventeen beasts, while Light killed twenty-one, and Rayce killed ten. ** Wan Lan punched out but held back at the last second, instead palming the wolf's head and snapping its neck rather than obliterating it. It was more tiring to hold back, she sighed, than to venture off every other night deep into the forest and hunt for the beasts under the vague orders of, 'Because Master said so'.

And yet nobody, especially not her, complained; though it had become clear that Master was far from well versed in martial arts or offering pointers for comprehension of Dao, Wan Lan could hardly care about that. Just as everyone else. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! In truth, if they ever had a question about cultivation, everyone just asked Senior Brother Tao.

He'd grumble and sneer and make a passing comment about how tiring it was, but he always responded, and all his advice was right on point. Master, on the other hand, Wan Lan mused, felt more like a father figure... and a generous giver of gifts that likely few in the world could procure. Mostly the former, however. Any time she talked to him, whatever anxieties she was wrestling with would simply... fade away. It was as though the mere sound of his voice had the magic power to dispel the fear.

That was why, when Brother Tao said, 'Because Master said so', nobody uttered another word and just followed. It was a scary thought, she reckoned as she grabbed another wolf by the neck and pinned it down, choking the life out of it despite the wolf being thrice her size. The beast struggled and whimpered and tried to bite itself free, but for naught. The scary bit was that she didn't want to ask herself at what point she would say'No'.

What was her breaking point, where the words 'Because Master said so' would cease to have compelling magic on her? She feared, if she asked, the answer she would get would leave her restless. She killed twenty-eight demonic beasts that night, while little Xiu killed twenty, pouting their entire way back while Wan Lan gloated in victory. **... hey. Something is off. Why does it say 244/500 all of a sudden? It's been five nights! Five freakin' nights!

How have they killed nearly 200 demonic beasts in just five nights? You know what? I don't even wanna ask. Whatever. Of course they did. They are main characters of this damned world. The most terrifying bit, however, was that the woman seemed wholly unaware of it.

Despite spending breakfast and dinner with us, and despite occasionally coming over to chat or try and pry some info about me or the kids, she seemed entirely none the wiser that, every night, a small squad of exterminators would venture out into the woods to completely annihilate the local wildlife.

"Check, Master!" Little Feng's voice dragged me out of my thoughts as I looked down at the board, stiffening for a moment. Damn. This kid was getting good. Scarily good. I mean, I was still occasionally playing nonsense on purpose to extend the games, but still. He ain't a Genius for nothing, I suppose. I moved my queen and ate up his bishop and watched his face light up like a Christmas tree as he giddily used the pawn to take my queen.

That giddiness didn't last for long, however, as I used that pawn opening to give him a checkmate two moves later.

"It's unfair!" he decried.

"I was so close!"

"Ha ha. You really were. But you always have to remain patient and aware," I said. At some point, everyone, including the damn alchemist and that old monster, has joined us, passively or actively observing our match. I felt like I had to say something falsely profound, so I paused for a moment to gather my innermost bullshitting skills.

"The world is in a constant flux, in an eternal ebb and flow. If you get swept up by it, you lose the sense of the greater part around you. Just like in chess. If you focus too much on one idea, you fail to recognize the failing points of it and the counterattack to follow."

"Ooh," Xing Feng exclaimed softly.

"So... I should plan more?"

"Ha ha, not necessarily, no; while having plans for everything sounds perfect, it is also impossible. Plans are like eroded indentations in the ground, like tiny slopes, cracks, and depressions that the river initially flows through. However, a million different things intersect and obstruct, but the water slowly carves out its path. And it might look nothing like its first one. Plan, yes, but plan more so for how to react and adjust to the unexpected.

As someone from my hometown used to say, life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." A rather deafening silence followed my statement, though judging by their contemplative expressions... it was the good kind. Was what I said profound? I don't think so, at least. I mean, it's not exactly high wisdom to 'plan, but also plan for the unexpected'. Whatever. So long as my sagacious image of a wise teacher-- --pfft, I couldn't even finish the thought.

They rather abruptly scattered into their corners without so much as a parting word, leaving me alone. Even Xing Feng fluttered off. As I slowly put away the pieces and the chessboard, I entertained the thought that I truly am wise for a moment... until I realized that it was probably more likely to be one of those 'association' moments, where my words pointed them to the actual thoughts of wisdom. Oh well. For a bit, deep down, I'll accept that I guided them like a proper Master ought to, if ever so slightly.