Chương 22: Don’t Talk About My Brother

Guan Li led them right to the edge of the grass field. They were right up against the fort, but no one could sense any qi signatures from within. But in this test it might not be possible to, the elders were inexplicable. A stone wall towered forty feet tall, wrapping around in a circle with a circumference of at least a kilometer. It was large enough that calling it a fort was misleading. If anything, it was more of a fortified city. From four opposite directions, gates led into the city.

However, the roads that passed through the gates only started about a hundred meters from the entrances. Along the wall were crenellations, and peeking inside revealed wooden buildings with traditionally sloped roofs.

"Should we head in?" Liming asked in a low voice as the four of them huddled around to discuss their plans.

"I don't know," Yixin said.

"I can't see anyone." Guan Li shook his head.

"I don't see anything either."

"Do we know how much time is left?" Paike asked, looking up to try to track the sun in the sky but finding nothing but the ambient lighting. Guan Li looked up to study the sky, not to track the sun, but as if he was concentrating on something.

"A couple of hours at least." Paike frowned.

"Okay. I don't think we should claim the objective yet. We should go in, though, and wait to ambush the next team that enters the city. There's no way we can hold the full city by ourselves. It's too spread out, too many entrances, and trying to hold one by ourselves just wouldn't work. We'd be too outnumbered."

"So, what, you suggest we find a spot near the objective, wait, and then ambush whoever tries to claim it?" Yixin asked. Paike nodded with authority.

"Yes. That should help us eliminate any other teams rather than being attacked ourselves. I do not like the idea of holding an objective here for hours."

"Okay," Yixin said, and Liming and Guan Li both acquiesced as well. He was glad that no one was calling his plan cowardly or dishonorable. Gaun Li and his sister knew better, but he didn't know Yixin's background. Whatever it was, it was at least flexible enough to work with them. With caution, they entered through the nearest gate. The fortress was technically a city, but most of the buildings didn't have entrances and were simply facades with alcoves for doors and windows—perfect places to hide.

The four of them were extremely tense as they walked through the city. Fighting in urban centers was always a nightmare, according to Paike's tactical training. If the city was populated and you were a high-level cultivator, you had to worry about killing everything if it was your own city. Sometimes that was unavoidable, but the empire took a dim view of leveling cities, even if it was a deep tradition. If you were a low-level cultivator, there were countless places to be attacked from.

If the city was abandoned high-level cultivators could just level it. Still, they weren't there yet, so it held all the downsides of difficult sightlines, tricks, and traps—all things they were about to use on whoever followed them. They eventually reached the center of the city, where they saw the objective. It was a glowing fountain spewing golden sparks like water from the face of a star. As the energy shimmered and pooled around the base, Paike could feel the stellar qi radiating off of it.

He could easily see the circle in which they would need to stand to claim the objective and consider it theirs. Luckily, they just needed to be the only ones in there when the trial ended. Paike spun around, looking for something before seeing a taller-than-average building half a block back from the center. It made for a perfect overwatch position. According to his uncle and teacher, Cai Rang, 'Even in a world where half of your opponents can fly, everyone forgets to look up.'

"We'll be up there," he said, pointing. They moved off before they were waiting around too long. With relatively easy effort, the awakened cultivators scaled the side of the building and perched along the roof several stories up. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yixin, Guan Li," Paike said.

"You two watch first, and then in half an hour, Liming and I will switch with you. This way, no one gets too tired from watching the objective, and we won't get snuck up on." He and Liming got up and moved to the other side, where they could keep a casual eye out for anyone approaching the city or entering through a few of the gates. In a few moments of silence, each was lost in their own thoughts, considering the events of the day. Paike honestly felt a little mentally drained.

If he hadn't been a cultivator, maybe even if he had still been an Early Ruby, he would probably be looking for a rest. But now he felt relatively okay.

"How are you holding up?" he asked his sister. She gave him a smile and bumped the middle of his arm with her shoulder from where she sat next to him.

"I'm doing good," she said.

"My healing art helps keep me in top shape as long as I remember to cycle it every once in a while."

"I was surprised you picked a healing art. I didn't think that would be your type," Paike asked, hinting at a deeper question. Liming looked at him.

"Yeah, well, you're gonna need the support while we're here." Paike blinked.

"What?" he said, a little too loudly before lowering his voice so their friends couldn't overhear.

"Liming, you can't choose your arts to support me. That doesn't make any sense." She looked at him as if he were stupid.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm going to support you." Paike ran his hand down his face in frustration and groaned. It was exactly the impulsive, shortsighted decision she would make.

"Liming, I don't have a future. You're going to pass me in a month and leave me behind, never needing to look back. Don't limit yourself to trying to help me keep up. I'm going to make sure you have every advantage you can starting off, but after that, I just hope you remember me. Don't be a healer if you don't want to be." Paike's head whipped around, and he felt a fierce sting on his cheek. For half a second he thought they had been found before he realized what happened.

He raised his hand to his throbbing face in surprise, looking down at Liming in shock as she glared up at him with raw fury in her watery eyes.

"Don't talk about my brother like that," she said, spitting venom. She moved to stand up, but he caught her sleeve, pulling her back down. He met her glare with as steady of a gaze as he could manage. Of course, he was touched, but this was too important to let sentimentality get in the way.

"I'm serious," he said.

"So am I," she shot back, not even bothering to keep her voice down. Paike glanced over to see if their friends were disturbed, but they left the siblings alone. Liming continued, though, her fiery temper fully blazing.

"You are not getting left behind," she said, stabbing her finger into his chest.

"You're already past me, and I'm struggling to keep up. Just because you're slow at cultivating or whatever, you're too good at everything else to let that hold you back. If you don't believe in you, well, I'm going to keep going as fast as I can, and you're going to keep up with me. You're going to keep up with me because you know you're going to want to help me, and you're going to help me as long as you can.

And then, when we're both on the edge of ascension, you're going to look back at this and realize how stupid you were being all this time." When she got up this time, Paike didn't stop her and just stared out over the mock city. This was just stupid. He was here for her. He came for her. He bothered awakening because--well, last year, he wanted to say it was for her, but honestly… Honestly, it was his dream. He would pursue it as long as he could, but he could usefully contribute to the clan by helping her.

As many issues as he had with his family, he at least wanted to give back a little to them. And what was a better way of doing it than helping his sister? But the thought that she was going to sabotage her own growth and pick a path less suited for her because of him—he couldn't do that. He didn't even know the name of her art. It seemed promising, but still. Paike just stared out over the edge of the city, hoping that another team would come so he could do something to distract himself.

He didn't think well while just sitting there. Guan Li sat down next to him a few minutes later, a couple of feet away and making no sound. Apparently, Liming had decided to switch out watch early.

"Do you have any siblings?" Paike eventually spoke up. Guan Li shook his head.

"No. I don't know anything about my family." Paike grunted. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"The bitter part of me would say, you're lucky," Paike said.

"They're too much trouble sometimes. I just want what's best for her, but..." He trailed off, and Guan Li just shook his head.

"I don't think you get to decide that anymore." Guan Li said with a shake of his head.

"Liming is... she's stubborn." Paike snorted.

"Yeah, you can say that again." This time, as Paike looked out over the wall, he did it with a smile on his face. Yeah, Liming was too stubborn. So what if she didn't initially want to be a healer? She was so stubborn she'd probably be the best at it anyway. And if she was going to do it anyway, then he better do his best as well.

"Oh," Guan Li said.

"I believe that's our cue." Paike followed his finger to where he saw a trail of grass moving against the wind.