Chương 43: Chapter 42 — Farm Trip

The farm was much quieter at night. During the day, the group had driven past the entrance on their initial scouting loop and heard the ordinary sounds of machinery somewhere distant cutting up crops on a field. There was the sound of birds flying overhead, but, unfortunately, a distinct lack of goats. The group had headed just a couple of miles down south of the farm to grab dinner and do some last minute shopping.

Lin Che, especially, splurged quite a large amount on calorie-dense camping foods and gallons of water, which were subsequently stored in the back of the minivan. Now, at just past eleven, the fields were dark and still, and the only light came from a thin sheet from the minivan's headlights sweeping across the darkness.

"This feels like a different kind of horror film location than the motel," said Xu Fang.

"The motel had more charm," agreed Mingzhe. Lin Che kept his awareness extended at a low, passive level following the hints and guidance Chen Wei had provided him during his sound arts training. When compared with Chen Wei's sensitivity, Lin Che's was much rougher and far less granular, but he also had the reserves and spirituality to keep it running passively for extended periods of time.

Xu Fang brought the van to a gradual stop about thirty metres short of the point where the gravel widened into a field of wheat nearly as tall as the vehicle itself. He cut the engine.

"So," he said, "this where we're stopping?"

"Yeah, let's get out of the car," confirmed Lin Che.

"I don't see why we came this late at night. You can't see anything — we might as well have gone to a park in the dark instead," said Guo Mingzhe.

"There are goats somewhere on the other side," argued Lin Che.

"If they're asleep, we can 'borrow' one for the night."

"I don't want to commit theft," whispered Chen Wei.

From the feed of a silent drone at two hundred metres altitude, Shen Bowen watched the minivan stop. He had a small earpiece and a tablet with a live video feed, and he was sitting in the back seat of a car parked on the service road on the far side of the treeline. The drone footage was green-tinted from the night vision, and it showed him the room of the minivan and four human-shaped figures disembarking it.

It also showed him the rough outlines of the eight members of the containment team who were currently on orders to watch and not intervene. Eight was perhaps more than was strictly necessary for one man, but seeing as how the group ended up being four people, it would hopefully be enough.

"Hold," he said, quietly into the comms.

"I want full eyes on the group before we move." One of the men in the group stretched their arms and legs once they were on land, but it was not someone Shen Bowen recognised. Another guy, much stockier than the previous, had some bar of sorts stuffed in his mouth that he was eating. From the right hand side of the vehicle exited the man of interest.

At this distance, it was impossible to tell his cultivation level — not only because he was viewing from a live video feed, but also because it was difficult to get a read of strong cultivators regardless. And then, just behind him, another man stretched his stiff neck and looked upwards. Shen Bowen's mouth opened slightly in shock as he spoke into comms once again.

"Chen Wei has been compromised. Suppress yourselves with talismans and keep entirely still."

Lin Che stood beside the van and looked north, squinting through the gaps in the wheat with his vision reinforced by Qi.

"Why did we come at night, actually?" asked Mingzhe, pulling on a light jacket.

"We're not actually here to steal a goat, are we? I don't want a criminal record."

"For better conditions," said Lin Che.

"For what?"

"For what we're here to do."

"Which is?" Lin Che started walking.

"Come on." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Xu Fang fell into step beside him, hands in his pockets looking around at the dark wheat with the understanding that Lin Che being so secretive was not a good sign. As an avid reader of cultivation novels, he understood that certain things occur right after a training arc.

"I'll explain when we're closer." The gravel gave way to packed earth, and soon the combine harvesters were in full view. Lin Che kept his passive awareness open and even, not searching for anything specific. Everything was still, perhaps unnaturally so, but he chalked it up to the weird ambiance around the site of the holy land.

"This is quite atmospheric," said Chen Wei.

"Makes for a great team-building exercise."

"Our team-building exercise is just up ahead," replied Lin Che.

"They're at twenty metres," said the agent on the drone feed in Bowen's earpiece. On the tablet, the four figures moved in a loose cluster around the dark ground, their heat signatures glowing in the night vision. Three of them were moving rather tentatively behind one man, who walked directly towards the portal area without hesitation. Fifteen metres. Bowen watched Lin Che's heat signature and thought about the revised threat assessment.

The Shen Clan ran a background check on Lin Che before the engagement was finalised, asking around his friends, workplace, and university about him. His direct family should not have known about this either. How could the Shen Clan have failed a background check this poorly? Ten metres.

"All units," said Shen Bowen.

"Strike."

The Qi signatures in the wheat flared like lamps being uncovered all at once. Lin Che had already moved.

"Down!" he shouted at his group, his hands already closing around Chen Wei's collar as the first compressed force split the wheat and air where the group had been standing half a second earlier. It passed close enough that Xu Fang felt part of his hair being cut without warning as a pressure wave flashed past his face.

"What—" Xu Fang started.

"Left, move left, stay low—" The field opened on both sides. Figures in dark clothing sprang out from hiding, no longer caring about concealment. Lin Che pulled Chen Wei in front of him with both hands on his shoulders, positioning him like a gatling gun. Chen Wei looked at him.

"You want me to—""Constant release," commanded Lin Che. Chen Wei opened his mouth. A column of compressed vibration bore through the air in a straight line. Lin Che angled Chen Wei and moved him around by the shoulders to aim at their attackers. Two targets went backwards into the wheat hard. Lin Che focussed as much as his mind enabled him to use his sound arts to read the surrounding area.

He was not sure exactly how many attackers remained — their talismans made it tricky for him to locate them directly via their Qi, so instead he had to listen to the vibration of the wheat and earth to figure out their locations. He rotated Chen Wei, fast. A grunt came from that direction. Three down now; an unknown number remaining. Swallow Returns to the Nest flared up without warning, helping Lin Che avoid a lightning-infused kick from behind. He spun to face the kick's origin.

The attacker was already moving again, with lightning Qi crackling around their right leg as they reset their stance. Lin Che didn't wait for the follow up. Swallow Returns to the Nest was already active from the initial dodge, so he let it carry him two steps to the left before he moved again. The attacker committed to a second kick, but only hit air where Lin Che had been.

During the time it took to process this, Lin Che had already closed the distance and drove the attacker to the ground before reinforcing his fists with Qi until the entire farm could hear the sound of ribs cracking. Chen Wei, on the other hand, was now on the floor, sneezing into the soil. He had rolled away from the immediate combat zone, but was currently incapacitated by what appeared to be a full-body allergic response to the field.

He couldn't focus on vibration when his entire respiratory system was crying at him.

"Chen Wei," called Lin Che.

"I'm — hh—" Chen Wei held up a finger, but the sneeze did not come.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's the — it's the pollen—" he sneezed. His sound Qi discharged involuntarily into the air and dissipated somewhere amongst the wheat. Lin Che turned back to where Mingzhe and Xu Fang were, but their situation wasn't much better. Mingzhe had his arms over Xu Fang and was taking boulders that were being pelted across his back, his face in a slight grimace.

The attacker clearly intended to keep both of them pinned rather than escalate further, which suggested they were operating under orders to suppress rather than harm. Lin Che moved towards the boulder attacker and arrived in time to intercept the third projectile mid-arc, causing it to shatter into dirt mid-air. The attacker then made the reasonable decision to disengage and step back. Lin Che swept his gaze around in a full circle and all the attackers in dark clothing came out of hiding.

Jiang Pei walked through the farm at a casual pace wearing the same dark clothing as the others and stopped just four metres away from Lin Che. He took off his mask. His gaze settled on Lin Che, who looked him straight in the eyes. Behind him, the portal site, which had remained dormant all these years, was now showing slight signs of resonance.

"Shen Bowen is really upset that you blocked his number," said Jiang Pei.