For the first time in weeks, I had nothing left to do. Not for a lack of tasks, not at all. The development of more Drugnades, the setup for the production line of Qi crystals, the creation of cement for the wall, and the new cultivators all needed my input.
But that was all they needed. An input. All I had to do was look at things and add what I may want to change or adjust, and people would do so. And the more days that passed, the less I had to say.
Everything was going well, almost too well, and I felt a strange nervousness filling me. I no longer had the luxury of throwing myself at every task I could see in front of me, which only made me keenly aware of just how tensely wound up my nerves were. And how miserably I had been failing to cope with myself or my emotions.
I almost wished a problem would deliver itself to my doors to distract me from the problems I didn’t have an answer for.
Sitting on my chair, I let out a sigh, as I looked at the notes Qiao Ying had sent me about the production line of Qi crystals. A budget was attached to the resources that would be needed which would need my approval before they’d begin construction. In just a month, we will be creating Qi crystals en masse to export out into the Seventh Peak, and eventually the whole empire and beyond.
I took up a brush, giving my approval of the budget after doing some mental calculations. I didn’t need to, Qiao Ying had been meticulous and Yan Yun had double checked the numbers for me. Still, I did the numbers, before setting down the approval sign for the design.
Tying up the scroll, I sent the papers off with one of the birds Qiao Ying had brought with him. Getting up from my chair, I made my way out of my home to get some fresh air from the outside. A gentle breeze stirred through the village as I made my way around. Preparations for the wall had already begun. Wood and bricks were stacked in piles near the edge of the village premises, as the miners and workers discussed plans regarding how the wall would be built.
I had been surprised by how easily everyone had just accepted that a wall like that could be made, but people simply took it at face value. Maybe after breaking the chains of the heavens, making a single wall did not seem very impressive.
In another part, I could see Yan Yun seated with the few villagers who’d partly awakened their Chi. We’d presented it as a meditation exercise so far, but with the progress I sensed it wouldn’t take long before even more of them began to create a foundation for themselves. I would need to come up with an explanation on just how that was happening.
Or perhaps I could simply wave it away as the work of the divine tree, I was definitely tempted to.
An explosion shook the ground with a light tremor as I turned. Zhang stood with a boy grabbed by his collar, the ground around him in flames.
“Everything alright?” I asked, and he gave me a nod.
“One of them misfired the exploding arrows. I took care of it,” Zhang replied.
I nodded as well, watching Zhang lecture the boy on the need to be careful with the explosives. That was another thing that had happened. I’d finally begun training some villagers with the use of firearms. For now it was simply attaching drugnades onto spears and arrows infused with Chi to create some explosive weapons.
The idea had come from Qiao Ying after he’d studied the drugnades, and it was a surprisingly effective method. The weapon’s natural Chi was enough to ignite it upon significant impact, and the explosion would be easily tolerated by the Chi infused wood, making it reusable. The only problem was ensuring proper reapplication of the explosives on spears which was proving difficult. That is why the primary application was still arrows.
It was a simple setup, but still effective enough. I could imagine a small militia of twenty archers with exploding arrows releasing a volley onto an oncoming horde of demons as they decimated through their ranks. The attacks would then be followed by the cultivators who could fight, taking out the tougher ones that survived the initial volley. If need be, Sheldon, Zhang and I could take out any of the real threats as well.
I made my way around the village. Everyone seemed to have a task by now, whether it was collecting herbs for the Qi crystals, training for winter, learning Alchemy with granny Lang or just one of the hundreds of other jobs that were needed around the village.
Everyone but me, that is.
Finding no relief from the nervous knot of tension in my stomach after the walk I returned to my chamber, lying on my bed. I closed my eyes, trying to meditate in the hopes that I would feel more calm, but the lacking core within my spirit only made the experience more jarring.
I still had no idea what was happening with that. I could use Chi and do everything I had done before, but my core was missing from inside me, as if it had somehow turned invisible to my senses. I’d spent quite some time trying to figure things out but no matter how I’d searched within my spirit, I had not been able to figure out what was happening.
With a sigh, I got up, giving up on the idea of meditating. The restlessness remained, and I only found myself growing more and more frustrated with each passing minute. I needed something to do, something to increase our odds against the enemies I had seen from Ash. But… What was there to do? If the Deathless were truly immortal, could I even defeat them? Could anyone?
My thoughts continued to churn within my mind, as I sat in my chamber, doing nothing but worry in silence. Then, almost as if my wish from before had been granted I felt a shadow move around me.
The sensation sent a shiver up my spine and I turned trying to see who was there when a hand grabbed at my neck, before pushing me on the floor.
Panic shot through me as I reached for my Chi, when I felt an art interrupting my pathways, dispelling the Chi from within me. I felt a cold blade pressing against my neck.
“What are you?” the voice asked.
I looked up from the corner of my eyes. It was a girl, not much younger than I was, wearing a black mask that covered her features. My heart pounded in my chest. An assassin? How had they slipped past all the spirit beasts and Sheldon? The questions burned in my mind, and I knew that I should’ve felt afraid but somehow, I felt oddly calm.
“Weird question. I’m just a normal guy,” I replied.
“Do not take me for a fool. You’ve stripped this place of the very heavens. But you do not use Gu either. If you’re not a demon, then what are you?”
I paused, something about the voice felt familiar but I could not tell from where. A moment passed and I felt the knife pressing harder against my neck, finally drawing a drop of blood.
“Like I said. Just a normal guy,” I repeated my words.
The pressure from the woman grew, her Qi now pushing against me. For a second I wondered if this was it, if I would die here right now. The thought was terrifying, but at the same time I felt relieved. I’d already left enough pieces here, the changes I wished for would not stop even if I died.
“Who sent you?” I asked, when no reply came.
“I’m the one asking the questions,” the woman said, her voice containing ice. “Do you control the Divine tree? Who gave it to you?”
“No one. I had it with me all along,” I replied.
“Why did you bring the sect elder’s granddaughter with you?”
My eyes widened in surprise as I finally figured out who this was. “I didn’t,” I replied. “She came of her own choice. There was no home left for her. All I did was give her a place to stay.”
The woman paused, freezing. “Is… is she happy? Among mortals?”
I turned at last, feeling the grip loosen. “You should know the answer to that.”
I looked at Zu Ri, who looked back at me with a conflicted expression. The blade she pressed upon my throat remained firm.
“I don’t want to kill you.”
“Then don’t,” I replied.
“I cannot disobey my master. A shadow only exists to serve, it is the Oath we swear,” she replied, and I saw a shiver run down her.
It took me a moment to realize what she meant. An Oath. Like the one Yan Yun had sworn to keep my secret, but much more powerful. I felt anger take a hold of me, but I kept it in check.
“I’m sorry,” Zu Ri whispered, as I felt her blade move.
I let the Chi I had been holding back burst forth as I pushed her away. She moved swiftly, two more blades coming out and ready to strike me. I deflected just one, noting a strange ghastly aura around it, before I stepped. The world wrapped around me as I kicked Zu Ri onto the ground, before pinning her down with the weight of my aura.
I felt the world around me become one with me for a moment, and I used its strength to keep her in place.
She struggled, her movements precise as they hit my joints and ankles. If I had not been drawing strength from the village itself, I would’ve died. When she realized she could not win, the dagger turned, changing directions as she tried to take her own life.
I knocked the blade out of her hands, but she clenched her jaw, ready to bite onto something.
“Stop,” I commanded.
She froze, her body seizing movement entirely.
I took the chance to notice the little thread running from her. A tiny wisp, barely visible to my senses, but one that tied her life to another’s.
Touching it with my hand, I remembered the sensation of breaking the chains, as I pulled it.
The thread burned like fire, and Zu Ri screamed. I pushed, and something snapped, as the thread collapsed. The change was immediate.
“W-what did you do?” Zu Ri asked, staring at me in disbelief.
“I broke the Oath. You’re free now,” I said, letting go of the Shadow.
She slowly rose from the ground, her eyes on me, but distant. “You…” she trailed off, as tears simply flowed down her cheeks.
Silently, Zu Ri looked down at her shivering hands.
The door burst open behind me, Zhang rushing in with his spear raised.
“I felt a threa-,“ he paused as I raised my hand. I could tell he wasn’t pleased as he quickly caught on to what was happening, but Zhang did not move.
“Zu Ri?” I heard Yan Yun’s voice come from outside as she walked in.
The shadow looked at the mistress she served, and whatever resolve she’d been trying to hold on to crumbled, as she broke down into tears.