Chương 12: Caught

Principal Cross led Leo through a side corridor that grew quieter with every step. The noise of the assembly faded behind them. Students' voices, the shuffle of feet, the echoes of nervous laughter. All of it fell away until only their footsteps remained. They stopped at a door. Lord Astor's voice came from inside.

"Mr. Chen, Principal Cross." Cross opened the door and gestured for Leo to enter. His expression revealed nothing. No warning, no encouragement, no hint of what Leo should expect. Leo stepped through. The door closed behind him. The room was a traditional cultivation study. Calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls. A low table sat between two cushioned chairs, a tea set arranged on its surface. Lord Astor stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back. Leo's legs locked.

He couldn't make himself move deeper into the room. Just a short while ago, this man had crushed an auditorium of students under the weight of his domain. Now they were alone. Lord Astor turned. His gaze settled on Leo with cold indifference. Leo forced himself to breathe. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. A basic calming technique that did absolutely nothing against Nascent Soul pressure. Astor reached into his coat, took out a file, and opened it. He scanned the page.

"Leo Chen." He read the words without inflection.

"Born March 15, 2011. Spiritual Roots: 25 Wood, 15 Fire, 26 Earth, 13 Metal, 21 Water." Leo's throat tightened.

"Admitted due to impressive resilience and mature dao heart at such a young age." Astor looked up from the file.

"Si 0. 1." The number hung in the air between them. Leo's mind raced. He had probed Gucci boy yesterday without even thinking about it. If he could read and estimate the Si of others, of course Astor had done the same to him. Of course a Nascent Soul Lord would notice. Astor closed the file.

"Would you like to explain why your Si is no longer 0. 1?" Leo ran through his options. Running. Useless. Lying. Useless. Deflecting. Useless. Astor just stared at him. Leo stared back. He tried to focus on Astor's nose, on the bridge between his eyes, anywhere that wasn't the full weight of that gaze. His heart hammered. His palms were slick with sweat. Every instinct screamed at him to bow, to confess, to offer up whatever secret this man wanted in exchange for mercy. But this was his cheat.

His transmigrator destiny. The Azure Profound Continent. Mike's training sessions. The respawn mechanics that let him die and die and die until his divine sense grew strong enough to matter. He wasn't dumb enough to let anyone take it from him. Astor was strong. Astor could crush him with a thought. Leo had felt the domain, understood in his bones what kind of power stood before him. But he had his stubborn transmigrator pride.

"No... sir." Astor's expression didn't change.

"No what?" His voice was quiet.

"No, you don't know why? No, you don't want to tell me?" Astor took a step closer.

"No, you don't think I can make you spit out your secrets?" Leo's blood ran cold. But he'd come this far. He had to see it through.

"No, sir." His voice came out steadier than he expected.

"I won't tell you." Astor stared at him. The silence stretched. One second. Two. Five. Then Lord Astor laughed.

"Sit." Astor gestured toward one of the chairs. Leo hesitated.

"Yes... sir." He crossed the room on legs that felt like they belonged to someone else. He lowered himself into the chair and placed his hands on his knees to keep them from shaking. Astor took the other chair.

"At ease, Mr. Chen. I won't press you further." Leo didn't relax. His shoulders stayed rigid. His spine stayed straight. His hands stayed exactly where he had placed them. Astor noticed. He shrugged.

"I've seen many cultivators in my life. Thousands. After a while, you learn to read them. You learn who can be convinced and who cannot." He studied Leo.

"You can't be convinced. So I won't waste our time trying." Leo said nothing. He didn't believe a word of it. Astor's mouth twitched.

"You think I'm lying."

"I think you're a Nascent Soul Lord... sir."

"And Nascent Soul Lords always have ulterior motives?"

"I wouldn't know... sir." Astor leaned back in his chair. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Fair enough. Then let me be direct." He set the file aside.

"Anyone can see that you have abnormal divine sense. Even a random freshman who just entered Qi Refining could feel it, let alone me." Leo's stomach dropped.

"Did you have a plan for that?"

"No... sir.". Astor raised an eyebrow.

"No plan. No cover story. No prepared explanation for why a freshman with 0. 1 Si suddenly has sixty." He tilted his head.

"What were you thinking?" Leo opened his mouth. Closed it. The honest answer was that he just did what his mom told him to do. And he was not about to say that in front of a respected Nascent Soul Lord. All he could think of was his mom's voice: Go outside. Be social. You want to live in a cave like a wild person? No friends, no connections, just you and video games? He decided to adapt it.

"Humans are social creatures... You can't cultivate alone in a cave." Astor was silent for a moment.

"Good answer." He reached for the tea set and poured two cups. He pushed one toward Leo.

"I will cover for you." Leo blinked.

"Sir?"

"My influence will ensure no one else presses you for answers. If questions come up, they come to me, and I handle them." Astor lifted his cup.

"You will have protection. Space to develop however you are developing. No interference." Leo didn't touch his tea.

"In exchange for what... sir?" Astor smiled.

"I want you to remember this conversation. That I asked about your secret, let you keep it, and offered you cover." He sipped his tea.

"My son will be transferring here next year. With the other young masters." Leo felt his jaw tighten. There it was. The price.

"Like every young person in this country, he will be earning merits toward a draft exemption." Astor set down his cup.

"I can arrange a spot for you on his team." Leo blinked.

"Sir?"

"My son will run missions in the Boston Catacombs. Transport work. Supply runs. I will arrange that they receive only safe assignments. You would earn merits toward your own exemption at zero risk. No combat. No front lines. Just easy work with good company." Leo's mind raced. Draft exemption. The words echoed in his head. He had been worried about the draft since Lord Astor's speech. About the Catacombs. About those tens of thousands of Nascent Soul Lords on the other side of the dimensional tunnel.

This would solve everything.

"You don't have to sign anything," Astor continued.

"Work if you want to work. Quit if you want to quit. No obligations beyond what you choose to accept." Leo felt something loosen in his chest. The tension he had been carrying since the assembly, since the domain that enveloped him, began to ease. Safe missions. Easy merits. A path to exemption from mandatory military service. He opened his mouth to agree. Then he stopped. It was too easy. The realization hit him like cold water. He thought back to the assembly.

To Lord Astor's domain crushing the room, to the terror that had gripped every student. And then the pivot. The calming formation. The apology. The speech about innovation and entrepreneurship and realizing your immortal potential. Shock them, then uplift them. Astor had done the exact same thing to him. He had walked into this room terrified that his secret was exposed. That a Nascent Soul Lord would crush him, interrogate him, take everything he had built. And then Astor had pivoted. Had offered protection.

Had given Leo exactly what he thought he wanted. Leo frowned. There was something he was missing. Some angle he couldn't see. The offer was too clean, too perfectly tailored to his fears. Leo frowned. There must be more to it. Nothing was free. There must be a catch. Astor said he could quit whenever he wanted. But if he quit, would he keep the merits he had earned? The exemptions? What if the merits and draft exemption were tied to the young masters themselves?

What if he found himself bound to some spoiled brat's whims for the rest of his life? Astor watched him. The silence stretched.

"No... sir." Something shifted in Astor's expression. Not anger. Not disappointment. Something harder to read.

"Fine." He set down his cup.

"I won't ask for any commitment. No team. No missions. No obligations." Leo waited. There was always a "but."

"But if you are ever in a position to help my son. To save his life." Astor's voice was quiet.

"I want you to promise that you will do so." Leo stared at him. The request made no sense. Lord Astor was a Nascent Soul Lord. One of the most powerful cultivators in the country. His son would have bodyguards, spiritual treasures, and formation arrays woven into his clothing. He would have resources that Leo couldn't begin to imagine. Why would someone like that ask a mortal freshman for a promise like this? Lord Astor must be seeing something in Leo that he couldn't see himself. But at least it wasn't a favor.

It wasn't binding himself to some unknown young master's service. It wasn't a leash that could tighten at any time. It was just... saving someone's life. If he could. If the situation ever arose.

"I'm not sure I can promise that... sir." Leo met Astor's eyes.

"But I'll do my best." Astor studied him for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Good enough." He rose from his chair.

"You're dismissed, Mr. Chen. Principal Cross will show you back." Leo stood. His legs felt more solid than when he'd entered the room. He walked to the door, then paused.

"Sir?" Astor had already turned back to the window.

"Yes?"

"Your son." Leo swallowed.

"What's his name?" Astor glanced over his shoulder.

"William. William Astor." A faint smile crossed his face.

"He prefers Will." Something in the way Astor said it made Leo pause. It was the smile. It didn't seem real. Leo nodded once and opened the door. Principal Cross was waiting in the corridor.

Leo pushed open the door to his dorm room, walked to his bed, and sat down heavily.

"Hey." Tom looked up from his phone.

"You okay? Lord Astor got to you too?" Leo looked at Tom. Tom's face was open, sympathetic. He clearly thought Leo was shaken from the domain demonstration. He didn't know about the side corridor. Didn't know about the study. Didn't know that Leo had spent fifteen minutes alone with a man who could unmake him with a thought. Leo nodded.

"Yeah." His voice came out rough.

"Lord Astor got to me too." Tom grinned.

"Well, I've got something that might help with that." He swung his legs off the bed and reached for his bag.

"My uncle Ray knew Astor was coming in today to give a speech. So he prepared a little surprise for me." Tom whipped out a pair of tickets and held them up like a trophy. Leo squinted at them.

"New York Giants," Tom announced.

"Tonight. Uncle Ray got these to cheer me up after the opening ceremony." He waved the tickets.

"You want to come? We'll have to skip some orientation to make it, but I'm sure it won't be important." Leo blinked. Football still existed here? He thought back to the Exeter football field he had seen on the way over. The massive oval stadium. That hadn't been a normal stadium. His mind started racing. Cultivation and contact sports. Qi-enhanced athletes. Foundation Establishment linebackers. Gold Core quarterbacks throwing spiritual bombs downfield.

"Of course!" Leo sat up.

"I'd love to watch some football." Tom laughed.

"Leo." He shook his head, still grinning.

"It's not some kids' game." He mimed kicking a soccer ball with his foot.

"It's Flying Aces." Leo stared at him.

"Flying Aces?"

"Aerial combat." Tom's eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

"Two teams, eleven cultivators each, five per side on flying swords." Leo's mouth went dry.

"Like La Ferrari Eclipses?" Tom scoffed.

"A whole tier better. T4 La Ferrari Monzas at minimum." He tucked the tickets into his pocket.

"The Giants' starting lineup all ride custom lifebound equipment.." Leo shot to his feet.

"Tom." He grabbed his roommate's shoulders.

"You're the best. I've always wanted to see flying swords in action." Tom laughed and shrugged him off.

"Come on, let's go. We need to catch the train." He rummaged through his wardrobe, pushing aside clothes until he found what he was looking for.

"Here." He tossed something at Leo. Leo caught it. A jersey. Blue and red, with the Giants logo on the chest. Number seven.

"Put it on," Tom said.

"You can't show up to MetLife in civilian clothes."