Chương 11: Chapter 63: The World Turns

The rain clouds were no longer merely the forefront of the monsoon, but an extension of Juwon's dread. Song wasn't sure what to say. He understood now what Grannie Bora had meant, that letting Mae die when they could have saved her would fracture the clan. Knowing that Juwon had weighed the cost of family, and found it wanting, left a pit in his stomach. The more he thought about it. The angrier he got.

"You – " He opened his mouth, vehemence on his tongue. Then he spun Bongbong away and trotted past his idiot brother. What if it had been him? Would Juwon have stood there and begged, and been willing to throw away his seat as future Patriarch for him? His heart knew the truth, Juwon would have done anything to save his younger sibling. The past thirteen years had not been a lie. But his heart also knew that there was a seed of truth in his elder brother's words.

Just as Juwon would allow his emotions to overrule his heart when it came to his younger sibling, he also would make the logical decision for most other matters. And the Gangho was not always logical. Fortuitous encounters, random disasters, the capriciousness of the Great Ones. The Gangho was full of examples of when thinking things through logically resulted in a suboptimal outcome. Logically, Song should have walked away from Master Crane.

Logically, he should have done everything in his power to ignore or drive away Cyrus. Logically, he never should have gone out into the cold night on his own, riding with nothing but hope for a better future. Logically, they should have let Mae die. Even the sacrifice they'd been willing to make would cost them in the long run. If Uncle Seok had been able to save enough gold to buy Seojoon's advancement ritual components, the family would've had four foundation level cultivators.

There were few clans in all of Nakjo, or even the capital in Silla with that many. Instead, they'd saved one small life. Logic and rational thought turned to poison in the heart. Wook would have punched Juwon in his lying mouth. Tae would have said something acerbic. But little Song didn't know what he could do. Not all inner demons came from the Great One's mindscapes. For now… his brother clearly needed time to think. Perhaps Juwon was seeking chastisement. Or for someone to tell him he was right, or wrong.

But Song didn't have those answers. The best he could do right now was make it clear that this wouldn't affect the love he had for his brother.

"I think you're being a fool." Song finally harrumphed, shouting behind him.

"You're trying to fix the stable after losing the horse. But Mae is fine, and you've a chance to grow. Good thing, since you're a tree," he finished with a mocking drawl. Juwon let out a snort, then followed after. They rode on in silence, ever homeward. — Song wasn't quite sure what he was expecting on his return home. Perhaps a hero's welcome with the entire village running out to see him.

Jo Harin throwing herself into his arms with tears in her eyes, and Mae standing there with a welcoming smile on her lips while Seojoon prostrated himself and kissed his little cousin's feet. That was what always happened in the tales. But the sheep still needed to be herded, the horses fed, and the children cared for. For Changpo Village, life went on with little care for the momentous events that had occurred to its youngest cultivator. Though it was momentous for some.

"My little star!" Chohee's voice broke through the curtain of rain as she rocketed out of the Yurt and slammed into Song. She wrapped him up in a hug, then sobbed. Song patted his mother on the head. Had she always been this light? This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"You made it," his father's gruff voice came from the flap of the yurt. Lee San looked his son up and down, his long beard ruffling in the wind. He nodded at the grasswolf cloak.

"Did it serve you well?"

"Yes, Father. It likely saved my life." Song went to take the cloak off, but his father held up a hand.

"No. Keep it. If it can save your life again some day, then it's a price worth paying." Lee San rubbed at his horns, then continued, "The clan owes you a debt, my son."

"It's fine, the army already paid me," Song replied bashfully. He tried to push his mother away, but she clung to him all the tighter. Behind him, Juwon cleared his throat and made sounds about heading off to do his chores.

"Not in gold," San shook his head.

"But in blood. Mae owes you her life, and I owe you for keeping the clan from fracturing at the seams. I'll deliberate with the elders tonight, and decide. You and Juwon can have the rest of the afternoon off, you've likely driven yourselves hard to get back home so quickly. Go see Mae."

"Thank you, father. Mother, please let me go." Song looked around desperately to make sure they weren't being watched, but the monsoon was quite good at keeping people indoors if they had nothing better to do. She leaned back and he thought he was free, but Chohee lifted her hands and pulled his cheeks.

"I don't want to ever let you go again!"

"Ow! Mother!" Song protested, swatting her away and rubbing at his red cheeks.

"Don't you ever make me worry like that again! Imagine how I felt when that peddler came dashing in, telling tales of monsters and my half-dead boy! I nearly spat blood and died right then and there!" Chohee complained.

"Get used to it. I suspect Tae and Wook will have their go at you when they return from the fields," San laughed. Then he shivered, and motioned at his wife.

"Come, let Song go see Mae. We're letting in the cold and my beard's getting wet." Chohee gave Song one last peck on the cheek, then followed her husband into the yurt.

"Oh, we can't be having that. I hate kissing a wet beard." Song stood there, alone in the Lee Family compound. So much had changed, and yet everything was still the same. Song suddenly wished his brother had spent less time warring with himself and more time preparing him for what he was going to face. ["Hey bud?"] Cyrus broke the silence. ["I just had to spend several hours dealing with you and Juwon being awkward and I don't have it in me to watch you stand around in the rain. I'm dying here, hurry up and go check on Mae."] ["I'm going, I'm going."] He made his way over to Uncle Seok's yurt wagon, and announced his presence. A moment later, the harried face of Aunt Haru appeared. Her usually pinched expression was even more drawn today, and her eyes were black pits. When she saw Song, she simply burst into tears.

"You're finally here!" ["Awkwaaard. Today is just full of awkward, isn't it?"] Cyrus sniffed. Song agreed.

"Aunt Haru, it's okay. I'm fine." He reached a comforting band to pat her shoulder.

"It all worked out. How's Mae, can I see her?" Song asked, not having anything dry enough to offer her to dry her tears.

"I apologize for showing you such a shameful scene. Yes, Mae is inside. Please. Please talk to her. She won't talk to me or anyone else. Just… Just…" Haru choked off what else she was going to say, pushing Song through the flap and then backing out into the rain, leaving him alone in the yurt. ["That wasn't foreboding at all…"] Cyrus muttered. Inside, flickering firelight played over books, chairs, and tables.

There was one large futon up against the far wall, where Uncle and Aunt slept, but Mae's futon was hidden behind a hastily erected wall of tapestries. It looked like it did when Song played fortress with her and his brothers.

"Mae?" He asked, cautiously.

"Cousin Song?" Mae's voice was cracked, and muffled.

"Is that you?" Then her hopeful tone fell into a mumbled, angry, "Go away."

"Auntie said you wanted to see me," Song said softly, approaching the makeshift construction.

"So I'm not leaving until I do." He sat down at the edge of the tapestries, not entering, and waited for Mae to speak once more. Eventually, she did, with a soft, "Are you still there?"

"Always," Song said, reassuringly.

"I'm so happy you're still alive. I was worried."

"I wish I had died!" Her voice snapped back.

"That would've been better!"

"Better than what? If you were dead, I wouldn't be able to talk with you. Aunt Haru wouldn't be able to hold her daughter anymore. Death is scary Mae, you shouldn't wish for it." Song admonished.

"We would all miss you." Her only answer was soft, muted sobs. Song frowned.

"Can I please come see you?" She didn't reply, only sobbing harder. Song stood and slowly lifted the curtain away. The inside was a mess. Mae's bed had been ripped to shreds, and the wood was broken in several places. Where he'd been expecting to see a young girl, was a human-shaped jade green armor sitting curled up in the debris. Craggy green stone jutted up from the armor's crown, and where her face should be was a blank slate of stone.

Spikes of jagged rock stuck out near her knees and elbows and shoulder blades. ["Huh? A golem?"] Cyrus mused, then gasped. ["Is that Mae!?"] At the base of the armor's neck, a single red ribbon peeked free of the rocky shell, suggesting that Mae was either inside or had become the jade monstrosity in front of him.

"Cousin Song," Mae cried, her voice emerging muffled from the stone.

"I deviated."