Chapter 7 – Town of Tur

Despite the heavy mood permeating the ship, the evening itself was quite wonderful.

The slowly darkening sky was clear, save for a few scattered clouds. As the sun was setting beyond the horizon, a beautiful full moon was already visible in the sky.

A slight breeze caressed Sher, as she directed her steps to the stairs leading below deck, following her fellow disciples. She walked past her own cabin and the cabins of the three disciples, continuing deeper until she stopped at the farthest cabin door.

Sher hesitated for a moment and then decided to enter without knocking.

“Hello again, Elder… Big Sis Sher.” Lars looked askance at her.

“What are you trying to imply?” Sherenna was curious, though an ominous feeling suggested it was no mere jest. She quickly spread a delicate lattice of Divine Sense throughout the cabin, ready to divert the conversation if it were crushed by Elder Feng or Senior Sister’s Divine Sense.

“I wasn’t supposed to know, was I? Can I truly call you Big Sis without showing proper respect?” Lars’ voice held a note of genuine fear. Sherenna didn’t stop him speaking, as her Divine Sense wasn’t interrupted. “My Master always tells me that I will die by disrespecting someone I shouldn’t.”

“I’ve already told you that’s fine.” Sherenna was on edge. “What I wish to know is what exactly do you know about me. And how?”

Suddenly, her delicate work of Divine Sense was crushed. However, it wasn't the Elder nor the Senior Sister; instead, Lars scanned the surroundings with his own Divine Sense, oblivious to Sherenna's.

“I have met you before. Or rather your body, as you were already in the Dream. I recognized you because of my Eye.” Lars tapped the pale green stone embedded in his eye socket. “It sees everything, even your veiled Soul. And before sending me inside, my Master told me about you. I don’t believe you are acquainted, but he knows about you.”

“Do you, or your Master, plan to interfere in my plans here?” Sherenna briefly considered killing Lars then and there. Consequences be damned, his presence could bring much greater dangers along the way. A threat left festering was a threat growing stronger; perhaps it would be better to extinguish it now.

“I wouldn’t dream about it. Though I don’t know your objective.” Even though she controlled her killing intent, it seemed that Lars might have picked up on it; a flicker of fear crossed his left eye.

“Let’s keep it this way. You don’t pry into my business, and I won’t pry into yours. Though, I must ask – did you kill Senior Brother Chen and are you planning to bring harm to the Baihu sect?” Sherenna calmed herself. He did not give her a reason, yet. He could even prove an asset instead.

“No and no. You know that I wouldn’t dare to lie to you.”

Sherenna held his gaze until he lowered his head.

“That’s enough for now. We will continue our conversation later in a less conspicuous place.”

* * *

A day passed, but despite Lars's acceptance on the ship, both Elder Feng and Senior Sister Li remained wary. With each passing hour, the tension aboard the ship only intensified.

Sensing the unease – and having witnessed Lars's dubious appearance themselves – the three youths kept their distance. Neither did Lars try to make friends among anyone present, with the sole exception of Sher, whom he sought out a few times.

Senior Sister Li approached Sher to make sure she wasn’t harassed by the new addition on the ship. Sher reassured Senior Li that it didn’t bother her, though she decided against appeasing the situation. Providing meaningful arguments would be suspicious, and shallow reasoning would only make Senior Sister even more wary of Lars.

The thickening atmosphere was finally broken by Elder Feng. “We are two days away from the sect. However, we will spend the night in the town of Tur. I have… an old colleague I wish to see. Take this time to refresh yourselves and prepare for the entrance to the sect. Li Meilien, my dear disciple, if you would join me for a moment.”

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Sher watched Senior Sister go up to the ship’s helm, then joined the other disciples going downstairs to their cabins.

In her own room, Sher discarded the distracting thoughts and focused on cultivation. She was reassured after her talk with Lars, if not entirely convinced. But if there were to be a problem, her time was much better spent cultivating than fruitlessly worrying.

* * *

As the evening approached, the ship started its gradual descent. There was no lesson this time, yet all seven voyagers were present on the deck.

The town on the riverbank was far larger and livelier than the village they had previously stopped at. With several hundred homes and people bustling in the streets even in the late evening hours.

Sher also noticed a larger manor on the opposite side of the river.

As the ship continued its descent, townsfolk began to notice and point, drawing the attention of others.

Yet, as the ship finally settled on a lawn east of the town, no one dared to approach, keeping a safe distance.

The cultivators disembarked once more, though this time Elder Feng departed on his own, flying away from the ship. The rest of them, following Senior Sister Li, made their way into the town.

As they headed towards a building most resembling an inn, the townsfolk parted before them, only to crowd behind again, full of curiosity and gossip. Though this town was visited by travelers frequently, cultivators were a rare sight. Especially those who entered on flying ships.

The inn turned out to be quite luxurious, not compared to the palace chambers, but the ship’s cabins were no match.

For the price of a single spirit stone, the group was led to a large table in the dining area, soon laden with all manners of delicacies, while several maids hurried to prepare rooms for the distinguished guests.

Such treatment was quite novel for the three youths; however, all this was spoiled by a certain gaunt man’s presence.

Lars either didn’t notice or outright ignored his effect on the youths and calmly ate, methodically slicing off pieces of meat and chewing thoroughly.

Senior Sister was the most tense. With Elder Feng gone on his business, she was now the most senior cultivator present, and it would fall to her to act if Lars tried anything.

The air in the inn grew thick with unspoken tension. A merchant at a nearby table, sensing the rigid silence from the cultivators’ corner, hastily paid his bill and ushered his family out. The innkeeper’s smile became a fixed, nervous thing as he studiously avoided looking in their direction. While the staff kept on serving, the waitresses were even more nervous than initially. A group of cultivators was intimidating; a group of tense and worried cultivators was so much worse.

Finally, as the youths started making excuses and getting up, Sher shot Lars a very meaningful look. He returned a sheepish stare, then clearing his throat, stood up and moved upstairs to his room.

It wasn’t a time to assuage their preconceptions about Lars; even now Sher wasn’t entirely sure how inaccurate they truly were.

It would do good for the youths to have the evening for themselves. Thinking that, Sher belatedly realized that as the First Princess of their Empire, she wasn’t exactly helping to lighten the mood herself. With that in mind, she asked Senior Sister Li to accompany her out on the terrace.

Leaving the dining room, the two women saw Fu Jin speak excitedly to Yuan Hao, while Tang Jun perked up and started picking more food on his plate.

“Do you know what business Elder Feng has with his acquaintance, Senior Sister?” Sher asked.

“He didn’t share, only, he instructed me to remain extra cautious this night.” She shot a look towards the stairs Lars went up recently. “It was good thinking to give the boys some space. The tension affected their cultivation more than I’d have liked and the moment of respite before tomorrow may do wonders.”

Li Meilien gave Sher a curious look before continuing. “Though I wonder how you seem relaxed. You have shown you are not oblivious.”

Sher smiled broadly. “It seems I am made of stern stuff, as far as spoiled princesses go.” Her expression became more solemn. “I do think Lars isn’t immediately dangerous to us, but the Elder’s advice… I think it is prudent to follow it tonight.”

After some more conversation, they retired for the night. On the way back inside, Li Meilien took a step towards the boys as if to speak, but hesitated, ultimately turning away in silence..

* * *

Sher was jolted awake before dawn.

She sensed someone break through. As she extended a brittle lattice of Divine Sense, she confirmed it was the last of the boys, who finally reached Qi Condensation.

‘Someone must have been hard at work all night. Respite and relaxation can work wonders on one’s psyche and the right mindset is necessary for cultivation.’

As she relaxed to fall back asleep, her Divine Sense reached the ground floor of the inn… and immediately shattered.

Now fully awake, Sher quickly threw her travel clothes on, then extended her arm to the side. A moment later a sword materialized in her hand, retrieved from the storage ring.

Carefully, she made her way out of her room and towards the stairs. As she started to descend, she heard a creak of an opening door. A moment later, she could make out Senior Sister Li’s silhouette in the dark, sword in hand.

She focused on the stairs again. Step after step she made her way down, until she reached the dim dining hall.

At first, she didn’t notice anything wrong, just a handful of guests who remained after closing hours. She didn’t know the local customs, so she wasn’t immediately alerted. But as Senior Sister followed her to the dining room, Li Meilien summoned a flame, bathing the room in warm light.

Now she noticed the townsfolk slightly bulging bodies. Visible veins of dark purple Qi spread through their bodies, pulsating beneath their skin, slowly yet visibly changing their flesh. The Qi behaved strangely. It wasn’t displaying an outright corrupting influence. Rather, it had this effect specifically right now. It was as if the Qi was rejecting the townsfolk. Like when a body fights a disease, but in this case the townsfolk were the disease the Qi sought to purge.