Chapter 118 – Silence (III)

Chapter 118

Silence (III)

The remaining day passed by rather quickly and uneventfully.

The town calmed down for the most part, and the rumors returned to being largely about the two fallen sects and the rising number of smaller ones trying to take over the suddenly empty seat of the region’s sovereign.

Neither Wan Lan nor Madame Lu showed up at all throughout the day, and the kids didn’t linger out for long either, as I told them to come back early. There weren’t any ‘preparations’ we had to do, not really; this wasn’t like traveling back on Earth, where I’d spend a couple of days packing and arranging things in suitcases, only to still somehow forget to pack like 7 essential things, so I’d do it rushing like mad the morning of the flight.

Aah. Good times. Anxiety-riddled, yes, but good.

So, anyway, most of the evening was spent in anticipation of the visit–the kids cultivated, and I tried cultivating, but despite the advances I’ve made in purifying this godawful body, it was still, well, slow. I mean, this is probably what an average person feels when they cultivate–it’s still sluggish and sort of like trying to run a mile uphill without any prior training.

Like, sure, you start off okay, but the longer it goes on, the more painful it gets. Not that I feel pain, but that tiredness, though, very much so.

So, while the kids worked hard on advancing the future, and while I bargained that the system would do it for me at some point, maybe, possibly, hopefully… hours ticked by, and the night soon came.

Just as I was about to turn in for sleep, feeling rather ready to leave first thing in the morning, I heard hurried knocks on the door.

Walking up, on the other end was a panicked-seeming Madame Lu, her entire countenance rather different than any other time–even when I revealed who Light is to her.

“Madame–“

“Hush. No time for chatter. Gather your kids and follow me; you must leave immediately.”

“What is happening?” I asked, standing my ground a bit.

“… I’d just gotten some news–it seems that all my houses will be raided tonight by the city officials,” she said. “The official reason will be that they had information I was ‘harboring murderers and thieves’, though it’s probably just a way to get back this half of the town. If they find you, I don’t know how long they’ll keep you locked up–or even if they’ll ever let you go. So you need to leave, now.”

Okay.

Is it time to panic? No, not yet.

I hurried back in and was just about to knock on the kids’ doors when they opened, and the four of them came strolling out. None seemed particularly surprised, not even Dai Xiu or Xi Zhao.

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I awkwardly shuffled back and guided them out as we closed the doors behind us, leaving fast.

The old woman led us down a set of seemingly blind alleyways, and I soon lost myself within the maze.

Hmm. Isn’t this just a bit suspicious? That she got ‘information’ that she’ll be raided just the one night before we’re supposed to leave? And that she urgently needs to usher us out?

I eyed the hunched back of the old woman warily, wondering if she’d had a change of heart. It’s unlikely, but… people change. Plus, maybe the system was just wrong about her–maybe despite caring a lot about Light, she still held some resentment over the fact that the Demonic Cult or whatever it was banished her and stripped her of cultivation, and this was her way of getting back at them?

Oh, there it is–panic.