Chapter 37: This Young Master Should Have Known

Chapter 37: This Young Master Should Have Known

A moonless night had fallen over Clearsprings City and again he and Lan Fen stole out like thieves. After leaving the city proper they made their way to the stretch of forest that separated flat civilization from towering mountains. Rather than go any deeper they instead circled eastward under the cover of the brush.

He cycled qi to his eyes to better see but there was a limit to his vision in a world with no light. Even Lan Fen seemed to fade in and out of existence like a of ghost. The only thing he was certain of was her five layers of qi cultivation. Like a beacon, he locked his sense onto it and used it to guide his path.

Stop here, Lan Fen said. She crouched low and peered past the bushes into the cleared land that surrounded Clearsprings City.

He leaned over her and looked into the darkness at a mishmash of lights. A few tall walking fires became men carrying torches. Soft square lights were the windows of illuminated buildings. Between both lights were numerous glowing orange lights low to the ground and evenly spaced. It reminded Chen Haoran of a plane runway if somebody had filled the whole tarmac with lights rather than just the sides. Amidst the lights, he saw familiar shocks of white hair.

Lan Fen, he whispered. What is this place?

A medicine garden, she whispered back. One of many that the Lan family owns.

He knew enough now to know she meant spirit herbs instead of literal medicine, although given the way many spirit herbs could be consumed for immediate effect perhaps the term wasnt that far off. The orange lights must have been the spirit herbs then.

He tapped Lan Fen on the shoulder. She looked back and he waved his middle finger at her. She held up two fingers of her own and returned to observing. Song Yuelin had indeed followed them and was close by.

Whats the plan? he asked.

Sneak in, steal everything we can, and burn whatever we cannot.

A simple enough smash and grab then. He felt his adrenaline start to rush and mix with anxiety as he processed the situation. He had been through plenty of exciting situations ever since waking in this world but he still felt a strange fearful glee facing this one. They were dressed like ninjas and ready to rob an unsuspecting company blind, it had a sort of criminal charm to it, the kind hed fantasize about but never be reckless enough to do back on Earth.

He tamped a lid on his boiling emotions and focused. What do we do about the guards? They would be the biggest variable to deal with. While it was too far for him to sense their cultivation he was sure Lan Fen wouldnt lead them into a situation they couldnt handle.

There are three at the Eighth-Layer. Lan Fen didnt turn around. I will handle them. Kill the rest.

Chen Haoran stopped. His rising adrenaline flat-lined. Excuse me?

Lan Fen turned to face him. Is there an issue?

Do we really need to kill everyone?

You were not so squeamish when you killed the thugs from before. Why are you hesitating now? He could hear the frown in her voice.

They were trying to kill me, thats not the same as going over and killing people whove never done anything to me.

Chen Haoran said nothing.

I think your sister would like her.

What do you want, Song Yuelin, he demanded.

How could this servant desire anything in front of his master? Chen Haoran could imagine the faux innocence on his face as he spoke.

For once though he had no patience for it.

Perhaps you and I had more in common than I thought then, he bit out.

Song Yuelin went still. The around them went still with him. How so? His words broke the frozen air.

Chen Haoran had to watch his words, drop the topic, anything.

He didnt.

We both give up too much for loyalty.

Song Yuelins shadowy form seemed to fold and fluctuate in front of him. At any moment Chen Haoran expected one of those shadowy hands to stretch out and wrap around his neck. Or perhaps hed command the night itself to consume him. The shadow man stepped forward and Song Yuelin appeared out of the shadow.

Do you regret it? Song Yuelin asked. The question had the air of confession about it.

Chen Haoran couldnt help but laugh. Would he like the essay or the abridged version? There were a lot of things he regretted both right now and back then. It was for more than just survival that he took a dead mans name. Yeah, I do, he smiled. When has that stopped guys like us though.

Song Yuelin was stone-faced.

I dont like I like the way Ive been acting, Chen Haoran admitted. Ive just been swept up into the flow. It was a depressingly common issue with him. One that followed him from Earth.

The last of the screaming stopped. Chen Haoran could hear the crackling of burning wood. For better or worse, he had made his choice.

He sighed.

Did he die just to be the same man twice?