Chapter 42 — Farm Trip

The farm was much quieter at night.

During the day, the group had driven past the entrance on their initial scouting loop and heard the ordinary sounds of machinery somewhere distant cutting up crops on a field. There was the sound of birds flying overhead, but, unfortunately, a distinct lack of goats.

The group had headed just a couple of miles down south of the farm to grab dinner and do some last minute shopping. Lin Che, especially, splurged quite a large amount on calorie-dense camping foods and gallons of water, which were subsequently stored in the back of the minivan.

Now, at just past eleven, the fields were dark and still, and the only light came from a thin sheet from the minivan’s headlights sweeping across the darkness.

“This feels like a different kind of horror film location than the motel,” said Xu Fang.

“The motel had more charm,” agreed Mingzhe.

Lin Che kept his awareness extended at a low, passive level following the hints and guidance Chen Wei had provided him during his sound arts training. When compared with Chen Wei’s sensitivity, Lin Che’s was much rougher and far less granular, but he also had the reserves and spirituality to keep it running passively for extended periods of time.

Xu Fang brought the van to a gradual stop about thirty metres short of the point where the gravel widened into a field of wheat nearly as tall as the vehicle itself. He cut the engine.

“So,” he said, “this where we’re stopping?”

“Yeah, let’s get out of the car,” confirmed Lin Che.

“I don’t see why we came this late at night. You can’t see anything — we might as well have gone to a park in the dark instead,” said Guo Mingzhe.

“There are goats somewhere on the other side,” argued Lin Che. “If they’re asleep, we can ‘borrow’ one for the night.”

“I don’t want to commit theft,” whispered Chen Wei.

***

From the feed of a silent drone at two hundred metres altitude, Shen Bowen watched the minivan stop.

He had a small earpiece and a tablet with a live video feed, and he was sitting in the back seat of a car parked on the service road on the far side of the treeline. The drone footage was green-tinted from the night vision, and it showed him the room of the minivan and four human-shaped figures disembarking it.

It also showed him the rough outlines of the eight members of the containment team who were currently on orders to watch and not intervene.

Eight was perhaps more than was strictly necessary for one man, but seeing as how the group ended up being four people, it would hopefully be enough.

“Hold,” he said, quietly into the comms. “I want full eyes on the group before we move.”

One of the men in the group stretched their arms and legs once they were on land, but it was not someone Shen Bowen recognised. Another guy, much stockier than the previous, had some bar of sorts stuffed in his mouth that he was eating.

From the right hand side of the vehicle exited the man of interest. At this distance, it was impossible to tell his cultivation level — not only because he was viewing from a live video feed, but also because it was difficult to get a read of strong cultivators regardless.

And then, just behind him, another man stretched his stiff neck and looked upwards.

Shen Bowen’s mouth opened slightly in shock as he spoke into comms once again. “Chen Wei has been compromised. Suppress yourselves with talismans and keep entirely still.”

***

Lin Che stood beside the van and looked north, squinting through the gaps in the wheat with his vision reinforced by Qi.

“Why did we come at night, actually?” asked Mingzhe, pulling on a light jacket. “We’re not actually here to steal a goat, are we? I don’t want a criminal record.”

“For better conditions,” said Lin Che.

“For what?”

“For what we’re here to do.”

“Which is?”

Lin Che started walking. “Come on.”

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Xu Fang fell into step beside him, hands in his pockets looking around at the dark wheat with the understanding that Lin Che being so secretive was not a good sign. As an avid reader of cultivation novels, he understood that certain things occur right after a training arc.

“I’ll explain when we’re closer.”

The gravel gave way to packed earth, and soon the combine harvesters were in full view.

Lin Che kept his passive awareness open and even, not searching for anything specific. Everything was still, perhaps unnaturally so, but he chalked it up to the weird ambiance around the site of the holy land.

“This is quite atmospheric,” said Chen Wei. “Makes for a great team-building exercise.”

“Our team-building exercise is just up ahead,” replied Lin Che.

***

“They’re at twenty metres,” said the agent on the drone feed in Bowen’s earpiece.

On the tablet, the four figures moved in a loose cluster around the dark ground, their heat signatures glowing in the night vision. Three of them were moving rather tentatively behind one man, who walked directly towards the portal area without hesitation.