Chương 430: Unending Peaks (IV)

Lao Shun vanished before the day rolled over, simply saying that he wanted more time to figure out a way to concoct the pills. How true it was, I couldn't tell, but I appreciated the apparent candor, at least. It wasn't as though he really had to stay, as, unlike the others, he wasn't a kid. He did behave like one here and there, but that's neither here nor there. Heh.

This will likely become the reality of things soon enough, where those who stay by my side will become a revolving door of kids who stick around for long enough to grow up and eventually go on to explore the world on their own. I mean, sort of like children everywhere do, no?

I stayed with my parents until college, and though I never went back to live with them (despite them occasionally offering), a good reason as to why I was able to even remotely navigate the strange waters of adulthood was that they prepared me... somewhat. That's my job, too--to prepare them. The issue is... I'm not quite sure how.

I mean, I can prepare them for their first heartaches, or for when things don't go their way, or for a small hundred other things that adulthood loads up into a shotgun before sputtering it all over you, but I can't prepare them for the things I've never experienced before. In a way, I'm growing up alongside them, having to adjust to it all in real time and answer questions as they come. Well, it's working thus far, so maybe there's a chance it keeps working.

We spent about two days 'stuck' in the lodging, where the food magically kept being refreshed every day, with an abundance of really good water that was full of Qi and better for cultivation than I thought water could be. The kids cultivated; I scoured every inch of the place looking for a glimpse of the outside, but it was foolproof. I mean, if I tried, I could probably actually brute force my way out of the array, as it wasn't that complicated, but, well, I'm not that stupid. Yet. Not that stupid yet.

** Liao Xinya sighed as she opened her eyes, unable to meditate. The locusts had descended upon the mountains, and there were so many of them it was baffling. She'd handed out precisely fifty tokens, each with an accompanying ratio of between ten to fifteen people. At most, she expected around a thousand--but there were literal tens of thousands of people.

When she saw it, she nearly lost her mind and almost went on a rampage, but there was really only one person with authority to overrule her, and it was clear she'd been overruled: the previous maiden, her grandmother. As for what reason? There were thousands, she guessed. Perhaps the old woman felt particularly mean on that day; perhaps she woke up with yet another bad dream of Liao Xinya doing something slightly unfavorable; perhaps she simply ran out of young men and women to bed in her chambers.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Or it might not be any of those things. It might be something she would never think of. That was simply who her grandmother was, for better or worse. No--definitely for worse, she mused. She stood up and stretched lazily, walking over to the window and looking up at the set of towering mountains.

At a first glance, they looked barren--but as one of the few people in the Sect with privilege to see everything, she saw the locust swarm feasting like debauched cows on food and drinks as though they hadn't ever before in their lifetimes. There wasn't anybody of interest that she could see, just the usual dreg of Holy Sons and Daughters who thought far too highly of themselves, destined for abject mediocrity at best.

"Anyone caught your eye?" the young, playful voice annoyed her momentarily as she turned around and saw the young girl appear as if from nowhere, merging with reality in front of her.

"... what do you want?" she asked rather curtly.

"I haven't seen you in a while," the young girl replied.

"That was by design, Zhelan," Liao Xinya replied, turning away from the girl.

"Not by accident."

"... do you hate me, Big Sister?" The way she spoke sounded rather sweet, yet, to Liao Xinya, it was a viper's tongue. Though the kid didn't quite know the extent of her role in all of this, she willfully played it to the best of her abilities.

"To hate something," she said.

"You have to care about it in some capacity. You're a dull little tool, Zhelan. Whenever I muster any emotion for you... it is always pity."

"I didn't ask for this."

"Tell them that my mind is already rattled," she said, glancing back at the girl who was doing her best to pout.

"I merely wish they had the courage to come themselves instead of hiding behind avatars and projections and little tricks. Great and Grand Elders of the greatest Holy Land, hiding in the shadows. I imagine there are very few things more pathetic in the entire world."

"P-please don't badmouth Grandpas and Grandmas!" She was as fierce as a kitten who thought itself a tiger.

"Or what?" Liao Xinya turned around fully and walked over to the girl.

"A tool should know its place, don't you think?"

"That's enough, Xinya'er," an aged yet spunky voice interrupted the tense atmosphere. Liao Xinya nearly clicked her tongue as she glanced to her left, where an old, veiled woman appeared. At least, she mused, the woman came here in the flesh, unlike most everyone else.

"Don't take out your insecurities on an innocent girl."

"Grandma!" The kid ran over to the woman and bowed deeply, all while Liao Xinya pondered when exactly they decided she was just... a wall they needed to tear down.

"Well? Aren't you going to greet me, too?" the old woman asked.

"What for?" Liao Xinya shrugged.

"You've been standing there for days. We're well past the greetings."

"... impressive. You've grown quite some ways since I've last seen you."

"Why did you let them all in?" Liao Xinya asked as she walked back over to the window.

"There is more than enough to go around," the old woman said.

"Strong bonds will be forged this year, forging a strong world."

"..." Liao Xinya smiled, almost bursting into laughter in the process.

"You must all really think me a complete and utter fool, huh?" she glanced back at the two standing still like statues.

"Quite the opposite, dear," the old woman chuckled.

"You are brilliant. Dangerously brilliant."

"Hm," she sighed, once more looking away. It appeared her days were... numbered. She always figured she would die for some purposeless cause, her life an exercise in futility and misery, a cautionary tale that tools who overstep are oft discarded. She chided the girl for being a tool, but at least the latter behaved properly as one... for now. There was a time, after all, when Liao Xinya herself was a prim and proper young girl, pride and joy of the sect.

"At least," she also finally realized what he grandmothers intentions were.

"It seems I will have a grand sendoff. Or, will I be the pariah?" She spoke to no one as both had left by then. In her heart, she leaned toward the former. A Holy Maiden perished, too! Thus, we could not have been the ones to orchestrate this! A strange feeling surged inside of her, one she quickly discarded. Though, she did wonder: was there a soul out there who thought of more than themselves and their own interests? She supposed not, as they would have died very young and very stupid. Just like she will.