Chương 66: The Price of Weakness

Guan Li uncovered a section of floor in his room and, with qi-reinforced fingers, pried up one of the heavy stones. Paike watched over his shoulder as he fished out a pair of leather pouches. He looked away as his friend dug through the pouches, but the clack of stone shifting told him what was in there just fine.

"I'm not missing anything either," Guan Li announced a moment later.

"You are on to something, I think." Paike nodded; their house just being destroyed could have been collateral damage from some fight, but many things didn't fit with that idea, not just the missing staff. The other disciples' reaction told him there might have been a warning not to interfere. If they had wanted to disguise the recovery of the staff, then they would have taken other things as well. Then it would have seemed as if they had just gotten robbed while they were out.

Maybe they had, but just nothing valuable enough that he had thought to look for it. Paike found that unlikely.

"I just need to remember who actually originally had the staff. I can't remember if I ever learned the family's name." Paike said. Honestly, he didn't really care about the staff. He was starting to come around to Li Feng's point of view. He had so many cultivation things to focus on, he didn't have time to really get beyond competent with the staff. With all his disadvantages, he couldn't afford any distractions from his progress.

Maybe one day he would need to learn one of the four noble weapons, but he would figure that out if he ever made it that far. However, he couldn't just let this go. It felt stupid, but no matter how many duels he won or powerful cultivators he defeated in battle, if he ignored this slight, he would paint a target on his back. He would be thought of as weak. As someone who you could steal from with no consequences.

He had also been sure that he needn't worry about someone coming for that staff, which was why he hadn't bothered to ransom it back to the original owner as one could. It wasn't supposed to be worth that much for a weapon. Though he supposed it was valuable if sold, but nothing compared to something like Li Feng's sword. Maybe the appraiser had been trying to cheat him? One of the things she had said that made it less valuable was that it had a specific attunement... Which it didn't have until he got it....

Paike felt profoundly stupid. How would the other party know that it had attuned to him? From their perspective, it was much more valuable than it had been. He wondered what their reaction had been when they noticed the change. If they had. He groaned.

"I think this might have been my fault."

"How so?" Guan Li asked.

"I think I ruin the staff for anyone else when it adapts to my particular flavor of qi. So when I got it appraised, it wasn't worth nearly as much as it was when I got it. I didn't even consider them wanting it back enough to make it a problem."

"That doesn't sound like it is your fault. They still lost it. Did they even make an offer to buy it back?" Paike realized that no, they hadn't. That would have been expected for something valuable or a family heirloom. Many cultivators made their money ransoming things back to their families for a bit of a discount. In that way, they avoided making enemies and still got paid. Buyers like those in the market would often do the same and sell it back to the original owner.

If no offer was made, the family would often approach first. Only if that was denied did conflict start. Or at least how that was things were supposed to go. Here, there were no family elders to take care of it, so the temper of the younger generation went wild.

"Did you ever learn the original owner's name?" Paike asked Guan Li.

"No? I thought you said it was a crude weapon he had made on the fly?" Guan Li asked, and Paike realized he hadn't told anyone about the staff. He filled Guan Li in on the fact that the staff had actually been a proto-spirit weapon infused with qi for a century and was close to awakening in a decade or two.

"Well, that changes things. I'm still not sure it is your fault. but it was definitely a bit..." Guan Li paused, looking for the fancy way to say his thoughts.

"Shortsighted of you to not look into the owner any more than you did." Paike groaned.

"I know. I'll cover the cost of anything you need replaced. It's the least I could do." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"In that case, all is forgiven." Guan Li said with a smile as he clapped Paike on his shoulder. Paike appreciated the forced cheer. He was sure that Guan Li didn't hold anything against him, but he could tell the boy was still angry. They would have to do something about this, but for now, they needed a place to clean up and eat before class.

"So what now?" Guan Li asked.

"I think we need to acquire a new house," Paike answered.

"Aren't they all the decent ones taken?" Guan Li asked.

"Is that going to stop you?" Guan Li broke into a devious smile.

The housing issue wasn't nearly as complicated or bloody as Guan Li had assumed. Paike smirked at him as he handed a bag of stones over to the confused tenants vacating their house. There had been no need for anything unpleasant. He had just walked up to one of the nicest houses in the area for the newcomers and politely asked the two current tenants to leave. At this point, his reputation as a powerful cultivator was such that none of them questioned it.

Guan Li was developing a reputation as well, and his looming over their shoulders had certainly hastened the pair's decision. They might have had to fight in order to preserve face if he hadn't offered them compensation, but as it was, they were more than willing to get paid and go find other accommodations. Seeing that they were living in one of the five nicest houses in the outer sect and Paike had no idea who they were, this was only a matter of time. They had been too ambitious when picking their place.

It was exactly what Paike and Guan Li had tried to avoid by choosing a more modest dwelling. He had vainly hoped to prevent having a target pointed on his back, but now that ship had sailed. He had to keep his image, and that meant projecting strength. It wasn't Paike's preferred way of doing things. His family believed that paying for services offered voluntarily created the best long-term solutions. This barely counted, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. As the service offered here wasn't really voluntary.

It might have looked like it, but Paike wasn't really offering them a choice. Just like he didn't really have a choice here. He had to show strength. And this was the fastest and easiest way to do so. Paike wasn't all-powerful. If he were, he could have just ignored this and taken all comers. But just as he eventually needed to hunt down whoever took his staff, he needed to show he could protect his house, or this would keep happening.

It was a flimsy justification in his mind, but no one but his family would agree with him. All other observers would find nothing wrong with his actions; if anything, paying the evicted tenants was seen as generous. One day he might not have to play these games, but until then... Well, he would need to be seen doing something about his ruined house. Moving into the new place took only a few minutes; they didn't have much stuff.

They then made a quick trip to the market and bought some food before preparing for today's lesson. One benefit of moving to the nicer neighborhood was that Li Feng was now their neighbor, as were Han Saiyan, Ren Shu, Wu Chen, and Xia Jun. Paike wasn't excited about all of them. He had never met Wu Chen and didn't have any problems that he was aware of with Xia Jun.

Apparently, those two knew each other, as they shared one of the houses, which would explain how Wu Chen, who no one knew could even fight, managed to keep this place. It now meant that all six male top-ten were in the five near-palatial estates. The walled gardens and extra cultivation areas would be convenient. But they would have to fully explore later, as they needed to head for physical cultivation class. As they left their house, they saw Li Feng exiting his house a little down the street.

Seeing them, he paused and fell into step on the other side of Paike from Guan Li. They exchanged polite greetings, but walked nearly halfway to the class before he broke the silence.

"It is no excuse, but yesterday I was not in a good enough state to properly convey my gratitude for your assistance after my breakthrough. It is glad to see that the honor of the Kong family is by no means exaggerated." Li Feng said in a somber tone, with a deep bow.

"Know that should you need my sword, it is at your disposal." They paused in the path, and Paike had to consider how to respond. It was not often he was thanked like this. There was little opportunity to truly help someone when studying with his family. And when he did in lessons or such, they were family, and such debts were not considered the same as they would be with outsiders. And when he had stepped in for Li Feng, he had honestly not even considered getting anything from it.

It was hard to say what had motivated him. Maybe a bit of self-preservation? It hadn't cost him much, as he was already wrapped up in it to start with. Dealing with it right away saved him trouble in the long run? He supposed he could have just left, but that might have been seen as a weakness. No, that wasn't the case at all. Why was he trying to rationalize it?

"It was something I could do. I have enough respect for your drive and your sword that I would not see either beset by scavengers." Paike said, slowly, still thinking through how he wanted to handle this.

"I considered it an honor to provide what assistance I could." He bowed in return, not as low, but a respectful amount. They held their positions for a beat before they both straightened. Li Feng had a rare, small smile on his face as they turned to keep walking. There was nothing more said as they headed up the trail, but a more comfortable air accompanied them into the clearing. The setup for the day's lesson stood out in its simplicity.

Instead of anything grand like an obstacle course or nothing at all, there were 20 mats laid out in a grid facing Elder Ji. As the students arrived, they each picked a spot, sat in a lotus position, and waited for the proper time. When the last student arrived, the elder spoke.

"Now I believe that most of you did not learn all you should from yesterday's lesson. Typically, I believe the only way to learn is to do. However, today, at the request of Elder Chu, due to the influx of students requiring medical help after yesterday, I will go against my preferred teaching method and explain your failings in detail."