Book 5: Chapter 56: Why Me?

Book 5: Chapter 56: Why Me?

Sen was working extremely hard to only pay attention to what was in front of him. Unfortunately, it was a task made difficult by the excessive boredom involved with that. There were no spirit beasts or even any other travelers to occupy his thoughts. Occasionally, at the farthest reaches of his spiritual sense, hed catch the briefest snatches of the presence of spiritual beasts. Hed been hopeful that he might be able to make use of those to deal with his other problem. Sadly, they all fled in pure terror at the merest touch of his spiritual sense. Sen didnt bother extending his spiritual sense behind him. He knew what hed find there, and it wasnt something he felt like dealing with at present. While he could avoid noticing the man with his spiritual sense, he couldnt close off his regular senses.

That left him hearing it every time the man failed to avoid a tree branch or some other obstacle in a mad rush to keep pace. Sen had done nothing to make that any easier, futilely hoping that if he made it difficult enough that the stranger would just go away. Hed been hoping for that ever since he walked away from the stranger after refusing to kill him. Sen had returned to the campsite and made a galehouse with an angry burst of earth qi. The stranger had come stumbling up behind him and demanding that Sen satisfy honor, only for Sen to slam a very heavy stone door in the strangers face and seal the door for good measure. That had seemed like it would be a sufficient message.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Yet, when Sen had gotten up the next morning, hed found the stranger kneeling outside the galehouse. The moment hed seen Sen, hed started demanding that Sen kill him so that the stranger could die with honor. Sen had shaken his head at the idiot and taken off toward the road using his qinggong technique. Instead of taking the not even remotely subtle hints, the man had started chasing him, yelling that Sen was denying him his rightful death. Sen had picked up the pace until the stranger had lost the breath to continue berating him. That had reduced the amount of noise, which relieved Sen, but the man hadnt stopped chasing after him. Sen had eventually stopped to eat something for lunch. The stranger had come staggering up, given the food in Sens hands an astonished look, and immediately started demanding that Sen finish their fight. For honor. Sen had stood up and stowed his food in a storage ring before shaking his head again.

Why me? hed asked, his eyes turned heavenward.

That same irritating process had continued more or less unabated for the last two days, making Sen ignore towns and villages where he might otherwise have stopped for a slightly more comfortable night of rest. Some part of him hoped that the relentless travel might wear the other man down. Unfortunately, while Sens qinggong technique was a little better and a little more efficient, letting him keep a bit of distance between himself and the stranger, it seemed that the other mans body cultivation wasnt going to give out on him soon. Having already decided that he wasnt going to give the man what he wanted, he didnt plan to back down on that now. Yet, it also left him with a persistent irritation. Realizing that his patience was going to wear down eventually and that hed do something rash, which was no doubt what the stranger was hoping for, Sen left himself slow down and stop. He turned and waited for the stranger to catch up. The mans eyes brightened when he saw Sen standing there. Before the stranger could get a word out, Sen spoke.

Why do you persist in this pointless pursuit?

Because you owe me an honorable

Sen cut him off with a gesture. I owe you nothing and honor least of all. What possible reason could I have to release you from your imaginary shame.

Honor demands

Honor is an empty plate. It feeds no one. It serves no purpose. It is a poor excuse cultivators use to kill each other and that the powerful invoke to impose their wishes on others.

Sen glanced over at the stranger and said, Yes. Once Ive steeled myself.

The other man looked back down at the town and stared hard at it. It was as if he thought he could force some answer from it through sheer willpower. When his efforts revealed nothing, he looked to Sen again.

I dont understand. What is down there that could make someone like you hesitate?

Sen once again wished the man would simply disappear back to whatever master had sent him in the first place. Taking a deep breath, he stowed his feelings as much as he could. They wouldnt be helpful in that village. He gave the stranger a pitying look.

Theyre dying, said Sen. All of them are dying.

A plague village? No one should go there.

Ignoring the man, Sen started walking down the road. He had heard about things like this from Auntie Caihong. It was almost always impossible to figure out how the illnesses found their way into the village or town, but it was usually one of the elders or children who got it first. Sen corrected himself with a mental snarl. One of the poor elderly or children contracted it first because their health was always fragile. Of course, the more prosperous people didnt see it as a problem. Just one less poor person, but the illnesses never stayed confined to the poor. The communities were always a little too tight-knit and the sickness invariably spread. More than one place had been left all but abandoned in the wake of these illnesses. There were occasional survivors, but a handful of people couldnt rebuild the complex set of crafts, food production, and services that let a community survive. Sometimes they tried, but more often than not they simply migrated somewhere else.

The stranger called after him. Why would you go there?

Sen turned and gave the man a glare that made the stranger take a step back.

What do you have to fear, cultivator? demanded Sen, contempt dripping from every word. Bearing witness to something unpleasant? No mortal illness is going to infect you. Im going there because no one else will, and theres a chance I might be able to save a few who would otherwise die. If I cant do that, then I may be able to ease their suffering. If that tiny measure of mercy is too complex an idea for your vaunted honor, then be gone!