Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 298

Grudges (V)

The 'basement' was simply a dark, damp room full of empty flour sacks stacked in one corner and random bits and pieces of rotten wood scattered across the rest of it.

Yun Qi flicked his fingers lightly as a sphere of light appeared, giving the entire space some color as he tossed the man he was holding at the empty sacks in the corner. He'd already sealed all his acupuncture points, and the man remained deathly shivering in the corner, his eyes wide and full of terror. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

It was a mighty grave reaction, Yun Qi mused, one deeply entrenched in all-devouring guilt; perhaps, in a way, the man wasn't so much running from it as he was waiting for the day it would catch up to him.

Yun Qi stood still and silent for a long while, examining the man's state; his clothes spoke of wealth, and though his cultivation realm wasn't particularly impressive, he would have still been an Elder of high status in the Spirit Sword Sect, at the very least.

He also had an aroma of herbs about him, though it was greatly diluted by the strong scent of alcohol--judging by the fading colors of green and yellow smeared across his fingertips, there was a good chance that the man was an Alchemist, or at least somewhat related to the field.

But none of it mattered--what mattered was the mention of strange kids and a gentle man. Could it be them? Yun Qi wasn't certain.

Even if they did manage to get away, he told Lu Qi to explicitly run east--as far east as he could go. There would be no reason for them to come here, not to mention that they were far too weak to have even crossed the Eternal Range.

... and yet, something stirred in his heart when he heard the description, as Lu Qi--or whoever became him--was inordinately kind.

Yun Qi flicked his fingers yet again and unsealed parts of the man's acupoints, allowing him to finally speak. The latter, though, remained silent and shivering, avoiding eye contact.

"You can talk," Yun Qi said. "Or I can make you talk. It's your choice."

"P-p-please, please d-don't kill me... I, I didn't know... I didn't know! How could I have known?!!"

"Could have known what?"

"T-t-hey were E-Elders of Holy Sects! H-how could I have known they would die?!" Yun Qi frowned momentarily, not sure what the man was talking about.

"Start from the beginning. Who are the children? What do they look like? And who is the old man?"

Thus began the tale that left Yun Qi even more confused than he thought possible.

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From the description of their appearances--rushed and maniacal though it was--they sounded nothing like the people he remembered. Not to mention that there were more of them, and they sounded far stronger than Yun Qi remembered them being.

But there were also bits and pieces that did sound like them--the children, from the description, were extremely protective of their Master, and sounded beholden to his every word. He recalled just how devout those kids were to Lu Qi, more so than Yun Qi's own disciples, whom he had had for centuries.

Then, just as he began suspecting there may have been a chance it was them, the man in the story revealed and shared an ancient Alchemist technique with the Sect Master of the local alchemy sect and saved the Young Lady of the local clan in the process.

Though he admitted that Lu Qi had many fine qualities, both as a man and as a Master, being a secret alchemical prodigy was not one of them.

Not two minutes later, just as he decided it wasn't them, he then listened to how the man ran around selflessly saving people, something as rare as a phoenix feather in the world of cultivation.

... was it them? Was it not them? With each passing bit of information, he grew less and less certain.

"T-they said they just wanted to recruit the kids," the man said, pulling Yun Qi out of his thoughts. "And that they wouldn't harm anyone! I, I really didn't know!"

"Which Holy Lands were involved?"

"I, I don't know! Do you think I dared ask?!"

"Why did you tell them who the masked kids were?" Yun Qi asked, feeling a bit curious.

"... t-they..."

"Hm. Was it worth it? Can whatever wealth they gave you keep the demons at bay?"

"... no," the man said as he began to openly weep. "I, I can't meditate. I can't cultivate. Any time I try to concoct a pill, it turns into sludge. Why? Why?!"

"Because demons are silent assassins few are ever prepared for," he said. "Do you regret it?"

"I do."

"Do you know what happened to the kids and the man?"

"I, I really don't. Bodies of all Holy Lands Elders were there, but the kids and the man were not, and neither was our Guardian. There, there was something else there, some kind of a thing, but not even Sect Master could tell what it was. Maybe, maybe they escaped? A-ah, but, but whatever took our Guardian... no, they could not have escaped. He he he. Nobody could have escaped."

Was it them?

He still couldn't tell. Maybe. Maybe not.

Regardless, though, with no clues as to where they went, it was impossible to confirm either way. If it was them, then it would mean that Lu Qi was still hiding far more things than he revealed. And if it was not... he was merely glad there were others willing to help people.

"Hm. What was your name again?"

"C-Cao Xun..."

"You understand that I must kill you."

"..."

"I am not judging your actions," Yun Qi said. "Though done in self-interest and pursuit of greed, I have done things no better than you, too. But I must kill you. Even if the chance it's them is infinitesimally small, there still is a chance. For that reason, if you truly had harmed them and cost them their lives, you must pay the price of life."

Yun Qi drew out his sword and pressed it against the man's neck, his hand unwavering.

"Do you have any last words?"

"Just," he mumbled softly as he pressed his hands together as though in a prayer. "Don't, don't tell anyone. Please. Let them think I've run away."

"Very well," Yun Qi said. "Let the death silence your demons, and allow your soul its deserved rest."

Yun Qi slashed softly and swiftly, easily cutting off the head--yet, there was no blood, no gore. In fact, there was... nothing. Not even a corpse.

Just the pristine(-ly dirty) basement, the same as he'd found it. He put the sword away, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and bowed, mumbling a farewell prayer.

Perhaps it was unjust killing, but he knew his soul would be shackled by tens of thousands of them in the coming years--the strange, mumbling alchemist would just be another one of his sins, faded and forgotten.